India announce Ruturaj Gaikwad-led squad for Asian Games: Key takeaways
Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead a second-string Indian team in the 2023 Asian Games, to be held in Hangzhou, China, in September-October. BCCI confirmed the same on July 14. As the multi-sport tournament coincides with the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India, only players not participating in the showpiece tournament will play in the Asian Games. Here are the key takeaways from India's squad.
Here's the men's squad for the T20 event
India men's squad: 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, Prabhsimran Singh (wk). Reserves: Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Sai Sudarsan.
Gaikwad given the leadership role
Gaikwad has been a consistent performer for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons. He has also been around India's squads across formats. Hence, the selectors have gone with him for the leadership role. Gaikwad, who leads Maharashtra in domestic cricket, would open the innings alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, who recently smoked 171 on his Test debut against West Indies.
Young faces in the middle-order
Rahul Tripathi, who made his T20I debut earlier this year, had a quiet IPL 2023. However, he has been given a chance. Tilak Varma is in line to make his debut in the upcoming five-match T20I series against WI. He would too feature in the Asian Games alongside Rinku Singh, who set the IPL 2023 alight with his power-hitting down the order.
Other players from WI T20I series
A total of six players from India's T20I squad for the WI and USA tour have been selected, including Tilak. Jaiswal, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan are the others. Only Mukesh and Tilak are uncapped in international cricket among these players. Arshdeep was a part of India's ICC T20 World Cup squad last year.
Washington Sundar to be the lead all-rounder
All-rounder Washington Sundar has been in and out of India's all-format teams lately. He, however, has put up some remarkable performances with both bat and the ball at the highest level. Hence, expectations are high from him. Shivam Dube, who enjoyed a dream IPL 2023 for Chennai Super Kings, is the lone pace-bowling all-rounder. He didn't bowl a single ball in IPL 2023.
Jitesh Sharma to keep the wickets
Jitesh Sharma, who earned his maiden Team India call-up earlier this year, is set to make his international debut at the Asian Games. The wicket-keeper has been impressive in the finisher's role in the last two IPL seasons. His Punjab Kings teammate Prabhsimran Singh is the other keeper in the team. As Prabhsimran is a top-order batter, Jitesh is likely to get the nod.
Here are the notable absentees
It seems the end of Shikhar Dhawan in Team India colors as he has been omitted despite an impressive IPL 2023. The same seems the case for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has not played for India since the last year's T20 WC. Prithvi Shaw has also been ignored. Deepak Hooda, who represented India at the 2022 T20 WC, is in the reservices.
