Both the men’s and women’s cricket teams from India will be at the upcoming Asian Games. The top women’s players will be on the women’s team, but the men’s team will be made up of second-string players. This is because the dates of the Asian Games and the Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 are the same.
Some of the young Indian players who did well in the 2023 Indian Premier League are thought to be picked for the Asian Games team. Several news sources say that former Indian star Shikhar Dhawan is the frontrunner to lead the Indian team at the multi-sport event in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8, 2023.
Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, on the other hand, thinks that Ravichandran Ashwin would make a great captain if he were not in the World Cup team.
“Ashwin is arguably one of the best cricketers of all time based on how well he bowls, how many wickets he’s taken, and how many Man of the Series awards he’s won. I really hope that if India sends a B team to the Asian Games because the main team is getting ready for the World Cup, they make Ashwin the captain. Because I think he deserves it,” Dinesh Karthik was quoted by Wisden as saying at a media event.
“I really believe that he has won the right to be captain of Team India because of what he’s done in the past. I know that Test cricket is going in a different direction right now. But I really hope and wish that the judges will make him captain for the Asian Games. I think it would be a great honour for him and something he deserves.
After nine years, cricket is back at the Asian Games.
Both the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games had cricket as a sport. But on both occasions, India did not send a team. Cricket wasn’t played at the 2018 event, which took place in Jakarta.
Notably, India’s women’s team competed in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and won the silver medal after losing to Australia in Birmingham in the match for the gold medal.