NEW DELHI: T20 champions Team India and England squad on Saturday evening arrived in batches in Kolkata ahead of their series opener on Wednesday at the iconic Eden Gardens.
The stadium is set to host its first T20 International in nearly three years.
The slight nip in the air is expected to add to the cricket fever gripping the city. The two teams will engage in a full white ball series, consisting of five T20Is and three ODIs, which will serve as a crucial warm-up for the Champions Trophy, slated to begin on February 19 in Pakistan and Dubai.
English all-rounder Liam Livingstone was the first to check in, flying directly from South Africa after his stint with Pretoria Capitals in the ongoing SA20. The rest of the England squad, led by Jos Buttler, arrived later in the evening from their training camp in Dubai.
Team India players also arrived from their respective hometowns, with rising stars Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rinku Singh among the first to reach Kolkata at 4:30 pm.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma landed later, with Varma sharing a photo of the duo on his Instagram story.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir and the rest of the players checked in later in the evening.
Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya, making their international comebacks, are expected to land around midnight.
Both teams will have three training sessions before the opening T20I, with England scheduled for an afternoon practice on Sunday and Team India taking the field in the evening.
The teams will then travel to Chennai for the second T20I on January 25, with the five-match series concluding in Mumbai on February 2.
The ODI series will follow, with matches in Nagpur (February 6), Cuttack (February 9), and Ahmedabad (February 12).
India enter the series on a high after a commanding 3-1 victory against South Africa in their previous T20I series under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav.
Rohit Sharma will return to captain the ODI squad, which was announced in Mumbai on Saturday along with India’s Champions Trophy roster.
This will be Eden Gardens’ first International match since hosting the ODI World Cup clash between Australia and South Africa on November 16, 2023, and its first T20I since India faced the West Indies on February 20, 2022.
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) expects a full-capacity crowd for the series opener.
“With a bit of chill in the air and the festive season just behind us, it’s the perfect time to enjoy cricket,” said CAB president Snehasish Ganguly. “The response for tickets has been overwhelming, with queues stretching all the way to the High Court when counter sales began the other day. We are expecting a full house for the match.”
To make the occasion even more special, the CAB has organised a felicitation ceremony on Monday evening to honour the Under-15 women’s champions team and the senior women’s side, who finished as runners-up in both the domestic T20 and one-day tournaments.
Former India captain Mithali Raj will be the chief guest, joined by iconic city legends Sourav Ganguly and Jhulan Goswami. The CAB also hopes for the presence of Indian T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav to add further star power to the event.
