The Indian skipper Rohit Sharma expressed his views on the ICC Champions Trophy, stating that the Men In Blue will try their best to win the title. The team is all set to play the tournament that will kick off on February 19. India will be playing all their matches in Dubai instead of Pakistan due to political tensions and security reasons. India will play its first match on February 20 against Bangladesh.
While speaking on the 50th anniversary of Mumbai's iconic Wankhede Stadium, Rohit said that they will do everything to bring the trophy back again to the Wankhede.
"We will try our best (to win the title). It is always a dream to represent the Indian team in any ICC trophy. We will embark on another dream. I am sure that when we reach Dubai, 140 crore people will be behind us. We will try to do everything we can to bring the trophy back again at Wankhede."
Further, he said that the crowd at Wankhede never disappoints, no matter which team one plays. He also said that the players who are not from Mumbai love to come and play here; this is the specialty of Wankhede.
"The crowd does not disappoint here, no matter which team you play, India, Mumbai, or Mumbai Indians (MI). When we won the 2007 T20 World Cup and celebrated it here, that day I dreamt of bringing the World Cup trophy to Wankhede. Luckily we celebrated the 2024 T20 WC victory in Mumbai and Wankhede. The atmosphere is different. Even the players who are not from Mumbai really love coming here and playing. The stands were full when we celebrated (the T20 WC win in 2024), and they are full even now. This is the specialty of Wankhede."
India will start its campaign of the tournament against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai. The most awaited and biggest match of the tournament will be played between India and Pakistan on February 23, and India's last match will be against New Zealand on March 2.
February 20 - India vs. Bangladesh, Dubai
February 23 - India vs Pakistan, Dubai
March 2 - India vs. New Zealand, Dubai
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja