Asia Cup: Gautam Gambhir departs for Dubai

• India assembles in Dubai for Asia Cup 2025 prep camp; Gambhir leads initial arrivals.
• Suryakumar, Hardik, Rinku, Kuldeep among early attendees. All expected by Sept 4.
• India faces UAE Sept 10, Pakistan Sept 14, and Oman Sept 19 in group stage.

The Indian men's cricket team has begun assembling in Dubai for their preparatory camp ahead of the Asia Cup 2025. A group of players, along with head coach

Gautam Gambhir, reached the UAE on Thursday evening as the defending champions step up their title defence plans.

Gambhir, accompanied by captain Suryakumar Yadav and star all-rounder Hardik Pandya, was spotted at Mumbai airport earlier in the day before flying out. Upon arrival in Dubai, Gambhir - dressed casually in a black T-shirt and blue jeans - even posed with a fan, with the picture quickly going viral on social media. A video of Suryakumar and Pandya walking into the airport has also been widely shared online, adding to the buzz around India's Asia Cup campaign.

Rinku Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, and Harshit Rana were also among the early arrivals in Dubai. Unlike previous tournaments, where the entire squad gathered in Mumbai and flew out together, this time the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has allowed players to travel separately due to ongoing domestic cricket commitments.

Off they go! ✈️

Team India captain @surya_14kumar and star all-rounder @hardikpandya7 have left for the Asia Cup 2025.

The mission? Bring the trophy home. 🏆🇮🇳

[Asia Cup 2025, Indian Cricket Team] pic.twitter.com/hYY7z6O0rc

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) September 4, 2025

For instance, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana featured in North Zone's Duleep Trophy quarter-final against East Zone in Bengaluru, while Kuldeep turned out for Central Zone in the same competition. Once their games concluded, they joined the squad in Dubai.

By September 4 evening, all members of the 15-man squad were expected to check into the team hotel. Vice-captain Shubman Gill confirmed his arrival through a post on social media, believed to be clicked at the team base in Dubai. The first official training session is scheduled for Friday at the ICC Academy.

Questions remain on whether the reserves - Yashasvi Jaiswal, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, Riyan Parag, and Dhruv Jurel - will be traveling to Dubai or staying back in India.

India open their campaign against hosts UAE on September 10 in Dubai, followed by the much-anticipated clash against Pakistan on September 14. They will then round off their group stage with a match against Oman on September 19. The top two from each pool will progress to the Super Four stage.