Watch: Virat Kohli signs autographs for fans before leaving for Champions Trophy-OxBig News Network

Star India batter Virat Kohli was seen signing autographs for his fans before leaving for Dubai for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on Saturday, February 15. The mega event is all set to begin from February 19 with the opening game between Pakistan and New Zealand. India will play all of their matches in Dubai during the tournament due to their reluctance to travel to host nation Pakistan.

The Rohit Sharma-led side left for Dubai from the Mumbai airport ahead of the event as they were surrounded by several fans who came up in large numbers to wish their favourite stars good luck. Virat Kohli was spotted signing autographs for his fans. Apart from him, captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Gautam Gambhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, and Hardik Pandya amongst others were also seen leaving with the team.

India have been placed in Group A alongside Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand and will begin their campaign on February 20 against Bangladesh. The highly anticipated India vs Pakistan clash will be held on Sunday, February 23, while India’s last fixture will be against New Zealand on Sunday, March 2.

India’s record since ODI World Cup 2023

The Men in Blue are heading into the tournament on a winning note having recently whitewashed England 3-0 in the ODI series. Since their dream ODI World Cup campaign, India have played just six ODIs with their full-strength team, out of which they’ve won three, lost two and one game ended in a tie.

India will be without their ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah during the tournament, who’s been ruled out due to a lower back injury. He has been replaced by young fast bowler Harshit Rana, who’s made his debut across all three formats since November 2024. Apart from him, India are also taking Varun Chakravarthy for the Champions Trophy due to his phenomenal showing with the ball ever since his comeback to international cricket.

He also recently made his ODI debut in the series against England and returned figures of 1/54 in ten overs. The Men in Blue managed to reach the finals of the last two editions of the Champions Trophy in 2013, where they emerged champions, and 2017. Hence, they will be eager to continue with their golden run in the upcoming edition as well.