A few weeks ago, it was announced that cricket is going to be a part of the 19th Asian Games, and Team India is all set to send both the women’s and men’s t teams to the competition. The Asian Games 2023 are set to be played from September 19 to October 8 in Hangzhou, China.
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The men’s cricket event will be played from September 28 to October 8, whereas the women’s event will be played from September 19 to September 28. Both the men’s and women’s cricket events will be played in the T20 format at the Asian Games.
The women’s team is led by Harmanpreet Kaur, and the team is looking really solid as the BCCI has decided to send a full-string women’s team to the event. The men’s team, however, is second-string because the main team will be taking part in the Asia Cup 2023 during that time. Ruturaj Gaikwad is all set to lead the men’s team.
Richa Ghosh, the exclusive wicketkeeper batter, who was not selected for the Bangladesh tour, has made a comeback into the Indian squad for the Asian Games. Kanika Ahuja, Titas Sadhu, Anjali Sarvani, and Anusha Bareddy have been rewarded for their performances with a place in the team.
There is still no place for Renuka Singh Thakur in the squad, and the selectors have not even disclosed the reason for her exclusion. Shreyanka Patil, who was phenomenal in the women’s emerging ACC Premier Cup 2023, has not gotten a call-up to the national team.
Anjali Sarvani and Rajeshwari Gayakwad are expected to hold the aces in the spin department, whereas Titas Sadhu, Amanjot Kaur, and Anusha Bareddy will take care of fast bowling. The regular players such as Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Deepti Sharma will have a lot of responsibility in such a big tournament.
Women’s squad for Asian Games-
Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, 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, and Anusha Bareddy.
The men’s team, on the other hand, is completely new, as the selectors have decided to give the IPL and domestic performers a chance in this tournament. This will allow these players to fulfil their dream of playing for India and get international exposure as well.
Ruturaj Gaikwad will be the captain, whereas Jitesh Sharma is predicted to be the first-choice wicketkeeper. Rinku Singh, who had an incredible IPL season this year, has finally been given a call-up to the national team.
Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, and Shahbaz Ahmed are the spinners in the team, whereas Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar, and Avesh Khan are the fast bowlers. Tilak Varma and Rahul Tripathi have also been included in the squad.
Men’s squad for Asian Games
Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), 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, and Prabhsimran Singh