The 15-member Indian squad led by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has left on Friday for taking part in the eight-nation Champions Trophy. The Champions Trophy will be played in South Africa from September 22 to October 5.

The Indian cricket team, pumped up by Compaq Cup triumph in the Sri Lanka, left from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai and they will reach Johannesburg via Dubai. Indian team was joint winner of the ICC Champions Trophy with host Sri Lanka in 2002.

All eight teams have been divided into two groups of four teams each. Two teams will qualify from each group for the semifinals. Indian team is placed in Group A with Australia, West Indies and Pakistan as other three teams in the group. The men in blue will start their camping with match against their rivals Pakistan on September 26.

Before the start of the tournament, Indian team will play a warm-up match with New Zealand on September 19 at Potchefstroom. Meanwhile, Indian aggressive opener Gautam Gambhir has been declared fit for the Champions Trophy.  

Indian squad for the Champions Trophy includes Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir , Rahul Dravid , Yuvraj Singh , Suresh Raina , Abhishek Nayar , Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh , Praveen Kumar , Ashish Nehra , RP Singh , Ishant Sharma , Amit Mishra and Dinesh Karthik.