The Indian cricketers arrived in Mohali ahead of the first of three T20Is that the side is set to play against Australia, just before the visitors host the T20 World Cup. The stars of Team India were seen at the airport three days before their game as the side hope to enter the marquee tournament with a couple of series wins under their belt to help boost their confidence.
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul were spotted among other India regulars arriving at Chandigarh. The top order would know that they need to start firing in unison as India go to the T20 World Cup, a tournament they have not laid their hands on since the inaugural edition in 2007. Last time in 2021, hosting the tournament in the UAE, India were knocked out in the group stage after two back-to-back losses against Pakistan and New Zealand.
Injured India players were also spotted arriving. While Harshal Patel was captured on Saturday morning, his pace bowling partner and the spearhead of the attack, Jasprit Bumrah arrived with Sanjana Ganesan in the evening of the same day.
Pace bowling unit of the Indian team did not have an ideal time in the Asia Cup, and Rohit Sharma would hope that the arrival of India's best T20 bowlers sorts out those issues.
The squad will be facing world champions Australia, who have now inducted big hitter Tim David in their list of probables. It would be a crucial series for the Australian team as well, who have not been able to set their batting order and questions loom if their UAE approach would work in their own country as well. Australia will be led by Aaron Finch, who recently gave up the captaincy in the ODI format to focus solely on the shortest version of the international game.
