“It doesn’t make any sense” - Indian cricketers to travel separately to Dubai for Asia Cup 2025

In an interesting turn of events, the Indian cricketers, who have been selected for the forthcoming Asia Cup 2025 campaign, have been asked to travel separately to reach Dubai from their respective locations.

For the unversed, Indian cricketers usually assemble in Mumbai before their departure for any overseas tour. However, a senior BCCI official has stated that since Dubai is a short-duration flight compared to other international flights, all Indian cricketers are requested to travel from their respective cities. 

"All the players will arrive in Dubai by the evening of September 4, and the first nets session will be held on September 5 at the ICC Academy. Factoring in logistical convenience, the players will be allowed to fly into Dubai from their respective cities," a senior BCCI official told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

"Obviously, a few will travel from Mumbai, but asking some of the others to first come to Mumbai and then fly to Dubai doesn't make sense. In any case, Dubai is a short-duration flight compared to other international flights," he added.

It’s important to note that a few cricketers, namely Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Kuldeep Yadav, are plying their trade in the ongoing Duleep Trophy 2025-26 quarter-finals, and they are expected to reach Dubai after the completion of the current round.

Team India will lock horns with the UAE on Wednesday, September 10, before taking on their arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday, September 14. India’s last group stage game is scheduled against Oman on Friday, September 19.

India's T20I squad for Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wl), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel.

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