This time, the players will fly directly from their respective cities to Dubai. This new plan has been made to keep the players fresh and further strengthen their preparations for the tournament.
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All the players have to reach Dubai by the evening of September 4. The next day, i.e. on September 5, they will have their first net session at the famous ICC Academy in Dubai.
A senior BCCI official said,
“We want to save the players from unnecessary running around. Some people will come from Mumbai, but it is useless to call the rest to Mumbai first and then send them to Dubai. The flight to Dubai is not very long anyway.”
INDIA-PAK MATCH uproar
There could also be another reason for this change. Actually, the India-Pakistan match in the Asia Cup always makes headlines.
This time too, there is a lot of uproar among fans, former cricketers and even politicians about this high-voltage match to be held in Dubai on September 14.
In such a situation, the BCCI wants the players to avoid the media uproar and keep their full focus on the game.
Connection of match schedule and Duleep Trophy
Team India will start its Asia Cup campaign against UAE on September 10. After this, there will be a clash with Pakistan on September 14 and then the last match of the group stage will be played against Oman on September 19.
On the other hand, some players are still sweating in the Duleep Trophy. Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana are playing for East Zone against North Zone, while Kuldeep Yadav is on the field for Central Zone against North East Zone.
This match practice is a great opportunity for them to further improve their game before the Asia Cup.
However, standby players Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar will not travel with the team to Dubai as net bowlers.
The BCCI has made it clear that they are focusing only on the main squad.