Champions Trophy: Virat Kohli's India fly to England without Rohit Sharma - Here's why

The members of the India cricket team for the upcoming Champions Trophy boarded a late flight on Wednesday for England. But, two players, Rohit Sharma and Kedar Jadhav, did not take the flight and will be going later to join the team in England.

Primarily, when a team flies for such tournaments, they always do it together unless they have the permission from the BCCI. 

Both the players had genuine reasons stay at home a tad longer than their team teammates. Jadhav faced some visa problems, while Rohit had to attend an 'important family function'. Rohit stayed back in India to attend a cousin's wedding, after taking the BCCI's permission.

However, both Rohit and Kedar, who are key players for India in the Champions Trophy, will be available for the first practice match against New Zealand on Sunday. 

"Rohit Sharma had made his request a long time back. So the BCCI agreed to the request. His (Jadhav) visa is cleared now and he is expected to leave on Friday.

"We waited for it earlier but nothing happened till late on Wednesday evening. Both players will be available for first warm-up game on May 28," the Indian Express quoted a BCCI official as saying.

Before the likes of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and the rest of the India players boarded their flight, there was time for some light celebration during Zaheer Khan's engagement and the premiere of "Sachin: A Billion Dreams".

Now, it is time for action for the Men In Blue, who are gunning for their third Champions Trophy title. India have been pooled alongside Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa. Virat Kohli's men open their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 4.