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The first batch of Indian cricketers, including skipper Rohit, on Saturday departed for the cricketing extravaganza, starting on June 2.
Apart from Rohit and Pant, the batch included pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, top-ranked T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav, head coach Rahul Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathour, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel.
In a small ceremony before departure at the airport, Pant was seen offering cake to the team members but Rohit was heard saying ‘jeetne ke baad khayange‘ (will eat after winning the T20 World Cup), refusing to eat cake.
Few players, including star batter Virat Kohli, who are part of the IPL teams which reached the playoffs, are yet to leave for the T20 showpiece.
While Rajasthan Royals had beaten Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Eliminator on Wednesday, they suffered a loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 on Friday night. SRH will face Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday.
Thus, players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson and Yuzvendra Chahal have not joined the team yet.
The T20 World Cup will be jointly hosted by the USA and the West Indies from June 2 to June 29.
The Indian cricket team will begin its campaign against Ireland on June 5 at the newly constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
India will face Pakistan on June 9, followed by matches against co-hosts USA (June 12) and Canada (June 15) in their Group A matches.
India had won the inaugural edition way back in 2007 in South Africa.
(With inputs from PTI)
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