First cluster of squad leaves for WTC; Kohli, Ashwin to fly later

The Indian Team is set to leave in groups starting tomorrow. The first lot of about 20 members, comprising mainly the members of the support staff, including Rahul  Dravid, will leave early on Tuesday. The pack of the full squad for the World Test Championship final will occur only by May 30, after the final match of the IPL which is set to be played on May 28.  

With their teams out of competition, players such as Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj will be part of the first group . Virat Kohli and R Ashwin whose teams RCB and RR are out of the league, will be departing most likely on May 24. 

Umesh Yadav, whose franchise Kolkata Knight Riders is also out of the competition, may also fly to England later. Net bowlers Akash Deep and Pulkit Narang may be included in the final batch. Left arm pacer Aniket Chowdhary may join later. 

The plan was to immediately send the first batch after the IPL league stage. However few players have requested the BCCI to allow them extension “There may be departures everyday till May 30," said a BCCI official in the know. "Logistics arrangements are being made for almost every day."

Jaydev Unadkat, who has been undergoing rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru is expected to fully recover ahead of the WTC final and he may leave after May 27. Amongst the three standby players, Mukesh Kumar will be a part of the first batch and the other two, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Suryakumar Yadav will fly after their IPL franchises, CSK and MI finish their respective campaigns. 

Meanwhile, there are rumours that the team may not get to feature in a warm up game and the plan now is to play a game among the touring members after everyone arrives at London. The final will take place at the Oval in London against Australia.