Virat Kohli and Co want to play in Champions Trophy, India coach Anil Kumble tells BCCI

New Delhi: After the greats of Indian cricket including Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid had expressed their opinion in favour of India's participation in the ICC Champions Trophy, team India coach Anil Kumble have reportedly told Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that their ongoing tussle with International Cricket Council (ICC) should not come at the cost of the team's participation in the tournament.

As per a report in The Mumbai Mirror, Kumble had conveyed to BCCI’s office bearers that the Virat Kohli and his team is keen to not just participate in the mega even but also defend Champions Trophy title.

The tournament, which is set to begin on 1 June in England, was won by India in the previous edition in 2013 and BCCI are expected to take their final call the team's participation at the tournament at its SGM on Sunday in New Delhi.

The report also stated that “important players of the team had come to to express their desire to play in the Champions Trophy, making coach Kumble to take the lead in this matter.”

Earlier, as per a report in ESPNCricinfo, big names like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Zaheer Khan, Gundappa Viswanath, Sandeep Patil, Sanjay Manjrekar, Aakash Chopra, Ajit Agarkar, Venkatesh Prasad, Saba Karim, Murali Kartik, and Deep Dasgupta, had expressed their take on the matter, saying India should participate in the eight-team tournament.