Dubai, Feb 16 : The Indian cricket team reached Dubai on Saturday night, setting the stage for their much-anticipated ICC Champions Trophy campaign. The squad, led by Rohit Sharma, adhered to the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) latest travel protocols, moving together as a group.

With the tournament set to take place across Dubai and Pakistan, India's Group A matches will be played at the Dubai International Stadium. The event will start with the opening match in Pakistan on February 19.

Several key players were spotted at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai before departure, including Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakravarthy. Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer, all-rounder Axar Patel, and pacers Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh also joined the squad. Hardik Pandya was the last to board, completing India's formidable travelling contingent.

Despite the absence of star pacer Jasprit Bumrah due to a lower back injury, the team remains confident. Fresh off a dominant 3-0 ODI series sweep against England, the squad is riding high on momentum.

Fast-bowling all-rounder Harshit Rana has been named his replacement while wrist-spinner Varun Chakaravarthy was also included at the expense of Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was originally in the provisional team. Jaiswal is now one of the non-travelling substitutes alongside Mohammed Siraj and Shivam Dube.

India, the two-time Champions Trophy winners, kick off their campaign with a crucial encounter against Bangladesh on February 20. However, all eyes will be on their much-anticipated showdown against arch-rivals Pakistan on February 23 ' a fixture that never fails to electrify cricket fans around the world.

The group stage will conclude with a high-stakes battle against New Zealand on March 2, a match that could prove decisive in determining India's path to the knockout stages.

India's squad for the ICC Champions Trophy: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (v-c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakravarthy.

/IANS