BCCI has reportedly refused to dispatch Indian cricket teams to the Asian Games.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided against sending Indian cricket teams to the 2023 Asian Games, despite repeated requests from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The postponed Asian Games will be conducted from September 23 to October 8 in Hangzhou, China. The only discipline in which India will not be represented at the Asiad is cricket.

India’s chef de mission for the Asian Games, Bhupender Bajwa, stated that the country had entries in every sport except cricket. According to Bajw, the BCCI cited international responsibilities as the cause for not sending teams to the quadrennial tournament.

“We have entries for all disciplines except cricket; the cricket team will not be attending. They reported being preoccupied. We sent them three or four emails, but when it came time to submit entries to the organizers, they refused to attend,” Bajwa told Indian Express.

According to the report, a BCCI representative stated that the IOA sent the email one day before the entry submission deadline. He added that the BCCI had already finalised the FTP for women’s cricket, and that the women’s team would be unavailable for the Asian Games due to limited-overs series against South Africa and New Zealand, while the men’s team would be competing in the ODI World Cup at home in October and November.

“We received the letter from IOA one day prior to the deadline. Similarly, the BCCI has already completed the FTP for women’s cricket. Our team will not be available during the Asian Games because they will be competing in a tournament, a BCCI official was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

The BCCI has previously denied sending cricket teams to the Asian Games in 2010 and 2014, despite the fact that cricket is a component of the sporting event. In contrast, cricket was excluded from the 2018 Asian Games. However, the BCCI did enable the women’s team to compete at the Commonwealth Games last year, where they won the silver medal.