Asian Games: Ruturaj, Harmanpreet to lead India in cricket
The Indian men's cricket team will be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad as the BCCI announced the squad for the Asian Games, set to be played in Hangzou, China in September this year. Notably, Rinku Singh has been called up to the side. Meanwhile, the women's team will be led by regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. Smriti Mandhana will act as her deputy.
Here's the men's squad
India men 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).
Here's the women's squad
India women squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Devika Vaidya, Anjali Sarvani, Titas Sadhu, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Minnu Mani, Kanika Ahuja, Uma Chetry (wk), Anusha Bareddy.
Schedule and venue of cricket at 19th Asian Games
The men's cricket competition will take place from September 28 to October 8. Meanwhile, the women's cricket leg of the Asian Games will be held in a ten-day window between September 19 and September 28. All matches will be held in the shortest international format (Twenty20). The matches will take place at the Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field.
India will look up to Gaikwad and Jaiswal
Gaikwad has made nine appearances for India in T20Is. However, the opening batter has struggled, scoring 135 runs at 16.87. Gaikwad has been impressive in the Indian Premier League though for the Chennai Super Kings. Yashasvi Jaiswal is another solid addition. He is currently playing for the Indian Test team against West Indies. Jaiswal scored a solid 171 on his Test debut.
Rinku gets a deserved call
Rinku was one of the highlights for KKR in IPL 2023. His presence will lift Gaikwad's men in China. Rinku was surprisingly not included in the shortest format for the tour of WI but gets his due.
A good mix on offer (men's)
India boast of players like Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, and Washington Sundar in terms of bowling. Arshdeep and Avesh Khan will lead the attack. Also, call-ups for players like Jitesh Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh, Rahul Tripathi, and Tilak Varma bolster the batting. Here is the standby list of players: Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, and Sai Sudarsan.
What about the Indian women's team?
Harmanpreet-led Indian women's team will go into the Games as the favorites. India have done well in global tournaments of late and the Asian Games gives them a chance to clinch gold. India claimed the silver at the Commonwealth Games last year. Harmanpreet and Mandhana bring plenty of experience to the table. Standby list: Harleen Deol, Kashvee Gautam, Sneh Rana, Saika Ishaque, Pooja Vastrakar.
