Asian Games 2023: While BCCI Secretary Jay Shah pushes for Cricket’s inclusion in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, the Indian Cricket Team will give the Asian Games in China a miss as confirmed on Friday. Both Indian men’s and women’s teams turn their focus to domestic tournaments and bilateral commitments. India are the most popular team in the world and their absence will play a huge impact on cricket’s presence at the quadrennial games that kick off later this year. Follow all cricket news and updates live on Insidesport.IN
“We have entries in all sports except one – cricket (team) isn’t going. They said they are preoccupied. We sent 3-4 emails to them but when we had to send entries to the organisers, they said they won’t go,” the Indian Express was informed by India’s chef de mission for the Asian Games, Bhupender Bajwa.
BCCI’s decision to not send a cricket team to the Asian Games raises eyebrows. The move while Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, leads ICC’s charge for Cricket’s inclusion in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. This follows Shah’s recent promotion to the chair of the finance and commercial affairs committee. He is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council.
‘Asian games not a priority, IOA sent a day before deadline’
However, an Indian Cricket Board official revealed that IOC’s request came only a day before the squad submission deadline. While the option of sending a separate team remained, BCCI decided that it was better for the players to focus on domestic competitions instead.
“Yes, there will be no India cricket team in Asian Games. It’s not a priority for either men’s or women’s teams. We have an Asia Cup to play in and World Cup. Women’s team will play against New Zealand and South Africa. Women’s team will get quality opponents in those series,” a senior BCCI official told Insidesport.IN
“We could have sent a separate team for men’s but we received IOA’s mail only a day before the deadline and it was not feasible. They will rather focus on domestic cricket preparations,” he added.
Harmanpreet Kaur and Co play New Zealand and South Africa during the Asian Games. In contrast, the men’s squad will play in the ODI World Cup on home soil in the months of October and November. Rohit and Co also have the Asia Cup to feature in September.
Two times, in 2010 and 2014, cricket was played at the Asian Games, however, India did not send a team on each occasion because of other commitments. Hangzhou will host the Asian Games from September 23 to October 8, 2023. This year, 40 sports will be featured at the 15-day continental championship. The quadrennial event was moved from 2022 to 2023 because of COVID-19.
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