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India will open its campaign in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on February 20 against Bangladesh in Dubai and then take on Pakistan in the second Group A match on February 23.
Virat Kohli kicks off his preparations for Champions Trophy 2025. (Picture Credit: Screengrab)
Star Indian batter Virat Kohli, who landed in Dubai on Saturday (February 15), has kicked off his preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which is set to start on Wednesday, February 19, with a match between Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi. Ahead of India’s first Group A match against Bangladesh at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on February 20, Kohli attended India’s net session on Sunday and can be seen playing aerial shots.
In several videos going viral on the internet, Kohli can be seen looking in good touch.
India will have high expectations from Kohli in the eight-team ICC tournament, which India last won in 2013 by getting the better of England in the final played at Edgbaston.
Kohli, who scored 52 runs in his last ODI match for India against England on February 12, will bat at No. 3 in the ICC Champions Trophy. In his last ICC 50-over tournament as an India player, Kohli hammered 765 runs in 11 matches for the Rohit Sharma-led side and played a big role in the team’s unbeaten run to the ODI World Cup 2023 final.
After facing Bangladesh on February 20, India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the second Group A match on Sunday, February 23, at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. India’s third and final Group A match in the Champions Trophy 2025 is against New Zealand in Dubai on March 2. If India manages to qualify for the semifinal, then it will play its knockout match on March 4 in Dubai, and the final, in case India progresses to the summit clash, will be played in Dubai on March 9. If India fails to book a place in the title decider, then it will be played at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Pant injured
During India’s nets session in Dubai on Sunday, star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was hit on the knee. According to news agency PTI, the 27-year-old stumper was in pain, but the physio Kamlesh Jain tended to him with a concerned Hardik Pandya coming out of the nets to check on his junior colleague.
But it didn’t turn out to be a serious issue, as Pant padded up soon after the first-team batters were finished with their sessions.
- Location :
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
