Colombo: Saurav Ganguly's men arrived in full strength on Thursday evening for the 12-nation ICC Champions Trophy that they had almost boycotted last week.

They arrived three hours late due to a flight delay from Chennai, but organisers and sponsors were more than glad to see the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly and Rahul Dravid anyway after the contract row almost saw them not playing in the mini World Cup.

India, one of the favourites, will be keen to mount a fresh challenge for the Trophy which eluded them two years ago in Nairobi, when it lost to New Zealand in the final.

India plays Zimbabwe on September 14 and England on September 22 in the three-team Pool 'B' in day-night matches at the R Premadasa Stadium.

India's participation in the tournament was secured by International Cricket Council (ICC) after direct negotiations with over Players' Terms with the cricketers. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which was initially reluctant to accept the agreement between the players and the ICC, ultimately agreed to select them and send the best team to the tournament.

The players are just back from a successful tour of England, which saw them winning a three-nation One-day series for the NatWest trophy after a memorable run chase and levelling the four-Test series one all.

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