WATCH: Team India players cuts cake in Thiruvananthapuram before leaving for Chennai to kick-start 2023 ODI World Cup campaign 

Team India arrived in Chennai on Wednesday, October 4 for the much-awaited 2023 ODI World Cup, starting on October 5. Virat Kohli, who failed to join the team for the warm-up matches in Thiruvananthapuram due to personal reasons, was also spotted at the Chennai airport. Notably, the India-Netherlands match at the Greenfield International Stadium on Tuesday was abandoned due to persistent rain in Kerala's capital city.

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That means Rohit Sharma and Co will directly play their first World Cup match on October 8 against five-time champions Australia at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Meanwhile, before leaving for Chennai, the Indian players cut a cake at the team hotel in Thiruvananthapuram. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja cut the cake on behalf of the Men in Blue as they prepared to board the team bus.

Watch the video below: 

Team India cut a cake in Thiruvananthapuram before starting their World Cup campaign in Chennai.

- Good luck team, time to get the trophy! 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/6xf8N0VevD

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 4, 2023

The showpiece event will get underway with a thrilling encounter between defending champions England and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The premier 50-over tournament is returning to India after 12 years and for the same reason, the host nation is considered as the main contender to win the trophy.

Notably, India's two warm-up matches were washed out. However, they will come in as a confident unit after beating Australia 2-1 in the three-match ODI series.

Team India's schedule for ODI World Cup 2023

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October 8 - India vs Australia, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

October 11 - India vs Afghanistan, Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi

October 14 - India vs Pakistan, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

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October 19 - India vs Bangladesh, Maharashtra Cricket Association, Pune

October 22 - India vs New Zealand, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamshala

October 29 - India vs England, Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow

November 2 - India vs Sri Lanka, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

November 5 - India vs South Africa, Eden Gardens, Kolkata

November 12 - India vs Netherlands, M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

Team India's World Cup squad

Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj