Eight teams will vie for a trophy, often talked up as tougher to win than the World Cup, and also to script a new chapter in their own cricketing story
A Jasprit Bumrah-less India will open their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai before the much-anticipated blockbuster against traditional rivals Pakistan February 23
Gill's 102-ball 112 was the highlight but middle-order mainstays Kohli (52) and Shreyas Iyer (78) were also instrumental in pushing India to a formidable 356 in the first half after being put into bat
If he manages to click, Kohli is in with a chance create another record. He is 89 runs short of becoming only the third batter in history to score 14,000 runs in the format which arguably has been the run-machine's favourite
The management would hope that Kohli's knee injury is not too serious and he is good to go in the remaining two matches of the showdown against England
The series will also test the preparedness of veteran pacer Mohammed Shami and wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, both of whom had been laid low by injuries and could be key to India's success in the Champions Trophy
It was Delhi's second win of the season but they are out of knockouts race from Elite Group D with Saurashtra and Tamil Nadu have qualified with 25 points
Interestingly, Railways (17 points from six games) have more than a fair shot at making the knock-out stages if they beat Delhi with bonus points and take their tally to 24
Between 2014 to 2019, Kohli has scored the bulk of his 80 international hundreds and since the end of Bangar's tenure, he has made only two Test centurion in the last five years
According to reports, several names are being considered for the position, which could play a crucial role in improving the team's overall performance, especially in the batting department
