Indian men's and women's cricket teams departed for their much-awaited tour to England in the wee hours of Thursday (June 3).
Taking to Twitter, BCCI shared pictures of players from both teams. The likes of Virat Kohli, Mithali Raj, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Jhulan Goswami were among the few who were captured before boarding the flight.
"Off we go," BCCI wrote in the caption of the pictures.
During the UK tour, the men’s team will play the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand in Southampton (June 18-22) followed by a five-match Test series versus England in Nottingham, London, Leeds and Manchester (August 4-September 14).
On the other hand, the women's team will feature in a four-day Test, three ODIs and three T20Is from June 16 to July 15.
Before leaving for England, the men’s team captain Kohli addressed a press conference and said that he isn’t too concerned about the limited preparation time that his side will get for the WTC final.
"...look, in the past we have landed in places three days prior even on a proper schedule and have had a hell of a series and hell of competition, so it is all in the head," Kohli said in the pre-departure press conference.
"...it is not the first time we are playing in England, we all know what the conditions are like.
"And even if you are used to the conditions, if you don't enter the field in the right frame of mind, you are going to nick that first ball or you are going to find it tough to pick wickets," he added.
While speaking to the media, skipper Mithali Raj said the inexperienced Indian women’s squad can gain a lot regarding Test cricket by travelling with the men's team.
"I am sure the girls have been interacting whenever they cross paths. It is good to have the men's team here because they have played a lot in the UK and you can ask them questions, they can help out because most of the girls are playing a Test match after a long time," Mithali stated.
