The Indian team landed in the city on Sunday evening - about 20 minutes behind schedule - for its ODI World Cup warm-up fixture against the Netherlands.
As the members of the contingent walked out of the terminal, hundreds of fans, who had gathered outside the airport, chanted ‘India, India’, welcoming them to the Kerala capital.
While head coach Rahul Dravid and Jasprit Bumrah were among the first to board the team bus, Virat Kohli did not travel with the team. Sources, however, have indicated that he will reach the city well in time for the warm-up game.
The Indian team travelled in a chartered flight from Guwahati after its last warm-up game for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 against England was washed out on Saturday.
But as they landed in Kerala, heavy rains lashed the city, raising serious doubts over the remaining warm-up fixtures.
The meteorological department earlier issued an orange alert for Thiruvananthapuram and a few other districts, and there are predictions of rain over the next couple of days.
While the Kerala Cricket Association officials are optimistic of getting a full game, the response from the fans has been lukewarm, majorly due to the inclement weather conditions.
The Indian team is put up at a plush beach-side resort in Kovalam - about 15 kilometres from the airport - and if the weather conditions improve, Rohit Sharma and his men are scheduled to train on Monday, before taking on the Dutch.
New Zealand, South Africa cancel training
New Zealand and South Africa are scheduled to square off at the Greenfield International Stadium on Monday for their last warm-up game. However, both the teams called off their training sessions on Sunday due to inclement weather conditions.
Ever since landing in the city earlier this week, South Africa trained for a couple of days but did not get any game time as its game against Afghanistan was washed out.
New Zealand, meanwhile, comes on the back of a convincing win against Pakistan in Hyderabad and if the weather holds up, the Kiwis will be hoping to keep the momentum going ahead of its campaign opener against England in Ahmedabad on October 5.
The Netherlands, which featured in a rain-washed game against Australia the other night, had an optional training session at the St. Xavier’s College Ground
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