T20 World Cup 2024: Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan Leave Mumbai For United States – WATCH VIDEO

Mumbai: Yuzvendra Chahal and Avesh Khan were seen departing from the Mumbai airport on Monday for USA to play in the T20 World Cup 2024. Chahal and Avesh weren’t a part of the first batch of Indian players who departed on May 25 since they were busy playing for Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 against Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 24 in the just-concluded IPL 2024.

Unlike the fanfare that was present when Rohit Sharma and company left, there were hardly any people in the airport when Avesh and Chahal checked in. In fact, Avesh was on a video call with Rinku Singh, whose team Kolkata Knight Riders emerged as champions of IPL 2024.

However, there were no traces of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson, both stars of Rajasthan Royals. Jaiswal, Chahal, and Samson are a part of the final 15-member squad while Avesh has been named as a travelling reserve. Rinku, too will travel with the Indian team as a reserve player but is believed to depart at a later date.

#WATCH | Maharashtra | Indian cricketers Yuzvendra Chahal and Avesh Khan leave for New York from Mumbai airport for the upcoming T20 World Cup. pic.twitter.com/OtWJzNMTPa

— ANI (@ANI) May 27, 2024

Former captain Virat Kohli is yet to take the flight too because of some paperwork, according to reports. Earlier, skipper Rohit Sharma was among the 10 India squad members that landed in New York on Sunday morning.

Also part of the travelling party was head coach Rahul Dravid and the rest of the support staff. Rohit, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel were among the players who arrived here. Reserve players Shubman Gill and Khaleel Ahmed were also with them.

Kohli, who played the IPL Eliminator in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, will link up with the rest of the squad later and likewise for Hardik, who had gone to the UK after the completion of the IPL league stage. In his first year as Mumbai Indians captain, the five-time champions failed to make the play-offs.

India will play their only World Cup warm-up against Bangladesh at the brand new Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, where they play three leagues games including the blockbuster clash against Pakistan on June 9.

As they play bulk of their league games at the same venue, India would want to make most of the warm-up game and get an idea of the conditions. The work on the modular stadium with a drop in pitch was completed earlier this month with the construction only starting in January. India, who have not won an ICC title since 2013, play Ireland in their World Cup opener on June 5. USA is co-hosting an ICC event for the first time and its national team will also be making its debut in the global competition.