Focus on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as Team India departs to Dubai for Champions Trophy

Dressed nattily in a white T-shirt and black tracks, Rohit Sharma got down from his car, and walked towards his teammates at the departure lounge amid loud calls of 'Rohit bhai' and 'Rohit sir' by fans waiting near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport entrance. Most of the squad members arrived in the team bus including head coach Gautam Gambhir, vice-captain Shubman Gill and star batter Virat Kohli and the stars obliged some fans by signing autographs or waving at a few of them.

Soon, the team boarded an afternoon flight to Dubai for the upcoming Champions Trophy amid heightened optimism of netting another global trophy after winning the T20 World Cup last June.



A Jasprit Bumrah-less India will open their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai before the much-anticipated blockbuster against traditional rivals Pakistan February 23, and then the Men in Blue will take on New Zealand on March 2 to round off their league engagements.

The confidence -- of the fans and the team -- has been boosted by India's recent 3-0 ODI series whitewash at home over England.

Those supporters assembled at the Mumbai airport will be hoping that the icons led by Rohit and Kohli will pull off another triumph like they did in the West Indies last year.

One last opportunity for greats?

A big promotion came young Gill's way when he was named the ODI vice-captain, and the batter who averages nearly 61 in the format will be keen to stamp his authority with a fruitful outing in the Champions Trophy.

The injury-enforced absence of Bumrah is an opportunity for the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana, while Varun Chakravarthy would want to prove himself as the surprise strike weapon.

A coming together of all these factors will determine whether India will touch back in Mumbai as a boisterous winning group sometime next month.

Till then fans can immerse themselves in joyous optimism.