(Cricket News) BCCI made an announcement regarding the participation of both the men’s and women’s teams in the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games. The games are scheduled to commence on September 23 and conclude on October 8. The women’s cricket competition is set to take place from September 19 to 28, while the men’s competition will be held from September 28 to October 8. Both competitions will be played in the T20 format.
Ruturaj Gaikwad has been appointed as the captain of the men’s team by the BCCI, which features talented players such as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, and Rinku Singh, among others. Standby players include Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, and Sai Sudharsan.
Rinku Singh, whose omission from the T20 series in the Caribbean raised questions, has secured a place in the squad. Additionally, Dube, Jaiswal, Varma, and Prabhsimran Singh have been selected based on their exceptional performances in the IPL. It was a remarkable season for Dube, who played a significant role in helping CSK clinch their record-equaling fifth title.
Jaiswal achieved a remarkable feat by scoring a century on his Test debut against the West Indies. He continued his exceptional performance and became only the third Indian player to reach the milestone of 150 runs in his maiden match for the national team.
Tilak has been included in the squad by BCCI that will compete against the West Indies in a five-match series starting from August 3.
While leading the team in China, Gaikwad is currently with the Test squad in the Caribbean. The squad also features wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh.
On the other hand, the women’s team will be captained by Harmanpreet Kaur, with Smriti Mandhana serving as her deputy. Harleen Deol, Kashvee Gautam, Sneh Rana, Saika Ishaque, and Pooja Vastrakar have been named on the standby list.
Titas Sadhu, a talented young pacer who impressed during India’s triumphant campaign at the inaugural U-19 Women’s World Cup in South Africa, has been included in the squad. However, it’s important to note that the 18-year-old is not currently part of the Indian squad participating in Bangladesh.
Inclusion has been granted to emerging spinners Minnu Mani and Anusha Bareddy, who are currently in Bangladesh. Additionally, wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, who was previously excluded from the Bangladesh tour due to fitness concerns, has made a comeback.
Cricket was part of the Asian Games in 2010 and 2014, but India did not participate during those editions. After being excluded from the 2018 Asiad in Jakarta, cricket has been reinstated in the program for the Hangzhou Games. The Hangzhou Games were originally scheduled for the previous year but had to be postponed due to China’s strict zero-Covid policy.
Due to the 50-over World Cup taking place at home, the men’s team for the Asian Games will consist of a B squad, while the main team will be participating in the World Cup. Previously, the Indian board had mentioned prior commitments as the reason for not including the men’s and women’s cricket teams in the continental mega event. Bhupender Bajwa, India’s chef de mission for the Asian Games, had stated earlier that all sports had entries except cricket. Despite sending several emails, the cricket team cited their preoccupation and declined to participate when entries had to be submitted to the organizers.
The BCCI has a history of fielding two national teams on previous occasions. In 1998, one Indian team participated in the Commonwealth Games held in Kuala Lumpur, while another faced Pakistan in the Sahara Cup. A more recent example was seen in 2021 when Shikhar Dhawan led a second-string Indian team for a series in Sri Lanka, while another team, captained by Virat Kohli, was in the UK preparing for a Test series against England.
Meanwhile, India has already announced squads for major sports such as shooting, boxing, archery, and badminton. The respective national sports federations (NSFs) have made the official announcements for these sports.
India men’s team: Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Shivam Dube, Prabhsimran Singh (wk)
India women’s team: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Devika Vaidya, Anjali Sarvani, Titas Sadhu, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Minnu Mani, Kanika Ahuja, Uma Chetry (wk), Anusha Bareddy
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