Indian team leaves for ODI series in Australia
Shubman Gill hugging Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli goes viral
Gautam Gambhir, rest of coaching staff to arrive later
The Shubman Gill-led Indian one-day international team left from New Delhi on Wednesday (October 15, 2025) for the three-match ODI series and five T20Is against Australia, starting October 19 in Perth.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the senior players whose future and 2027 World Cup participation is uncertain, were among the first group of Indian players to depart. The duo was joined by Test and new ODI skipper Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, and seamers Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna. Many members of the support staff were also part of the early batch.
The players made their way through the Indira Gandhi International Airport amid fans gathered outside, eager to catch a glimpse of the cricket stars before they embarked on another overseas assignment.
The highlight from the visuals that emerged was Gill meeting, hugging Kohli and Sharma. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCC) shared a video of the moments, and it expectedly went viral, with social media abuzz with reactions.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir and the remaining members of the coaching staff are expected to arrive later.
India’s tour of Australia begins with three ODIs, in Perth, Adelaide, and Sydney, before a five-match T20 International series kicks off on October 29. The white-ball specialists are tentatively scheduled to fly out on October 22.
(With PTI inputs)
