Star spinner Chahal, who had an impressive IPL 2024 season with the Rajasthan Royals, taking 18 wickets, is part of the World Cup squad. Pacer Avesh Khan will accompany the team as a reserve player.
At the Mumbai airport, Avesh was seen on a video call with fellow reserve player Rinku Singh.
On Sunday, the first batch of Indian players, including skipper Rohit Sharma, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, and top-ranked T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav, left for the United States.
Among those spotted at the airport were head coach Rahul Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathour, batter Shubman Gill, all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube, pacers Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, and Khaleel Ahmed, along with spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson, who recently ended their IPL campaign with Rajasthan Royals after a loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Kolkata Knight Riders’ batter Rinku Singh, along with star batter Virat Kohli, whose Royal Challengers Bangalore team lost to RR in the eliminator, have not joined the squad yet.
India will kick off their T20 World Cup campaign on June 5 against Ireland at the newly constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
The much-anticipated clash between India and Pakistan is set for June 9. Following this, India will face co-hosts USA on June 12 and Canada on June 15 to conclude their Group A matches.
India aims to end their ICC trophy drought, having last won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. Since then, they have reached the 50-over World Cup final in 2023, semifinals in 2015 and 2019, the ICC World Test Championship final in 2021 and 2023, the T20 WC final in 2014, and semifinals in 2016 and 2022, but have not secured a major ICC trophy.
India will strive to win their first T20 World Cup title since their victory in the inaugural edition in 2007 in South Africa. In the last edition held in Australia in 2022, India lost to England by 10 wickets in the semifinals.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj
Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan.
