Indian Cricket Team will play less matches at Asian Games 2023 in China. The reason for this is rather simple – as the Men in Blue will be one of the seeded teams at the Asiad. But how less matches will Team India play? Let’s check it out here.
The Indian Cricket Team will directly compete in the quarter-finals of the Asian Games 2023. The prestigious continental games will be held in Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China, from September 23 to October 8.
According to an announcement made by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Asian Games 2023 squad will feature a 15-member Indian men’s cricket team and five standby players. Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead the Men in Blue.
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Why India will play fewer matches at Asian Games 2023?
Being a top-ranked squad will pay huge rewards for India, as they will participate in the tournament’s last eight.
In the men’s competition, 18 teams will compete, with a total of 18 matches being played. The teams will be seeded according to their ICCT20I ranking as of June 1st, 2023. Hence India will definitely be in Top-4.
All of the games will take place at Zhejiang University of Technology’s Pingfeng Cricket Field.
Because the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup begins in India on October 5, India will field mostly a second-string team in Hangzhou, without first-team regulars such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and others.
The team heading to Hangzhou will have a lot of outstanding young players, the majority of whom were star performers in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Ruturaj Gaikwad, 26, of the Chennai Super Kings of the Indian Premier League, will captain the team at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Arshdeep Singh, a left-arm spinner who led the Punjab Kings in wickets in the IPL 2023, has been named to the squad. Rajasthan Royal’s Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored a century in her Test debut against the West Indies, was also named.
Rinku Singh gets his maiden call-up to the Indian national team this season following his tough hitting for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2023.
Cricket in Asian Games
Cricket has been played at two previous Asian Games: Guangzhou (2010) and Incheon (2014). Sri Lanka is the current champion, while Bangladesh won the first event. Afghanistan came in second place in both competitions.
For the second time, the men’s cricket team will compete in a multisport competition. The Indian men’s cricket team played in a 50-over tournament at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. The games, however, were classified as List A and did not get international recognition.
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