Ruturaj Gaikwad to Lead India in Asian Games

In a recent announcement, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named Ruturaj Gaikwad as the captain of a young Indian men's squad set to participate in the upcoming Asian Games. The prestigious event will be held in Hangzhou and will feature the shortest format of the game. Opting for a youthful approach, the BCCI has chosen players who showcased their skills and impressed audiences during this year's Indian Premier League (IPL). The squad includes promising talents such as Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, and Shivam Dube, along with Yashasvi Jaiswal, who received the tournament's Most Valuable Player award.

On the other hand, the Indian women's squad will comprise a full-strength team, with Harmanpreet Kaur leading as the captain and Smriti Mandhana serving as her deputy.

The Indian Men's squad for the Asian Games consists of Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Shivam Dube, and Prabhsimran Singh (wicket-keeper).

Standby players for the men's squad include Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, and Sai Sudarsan.

The Indian Women's squad for the Asian Games comprises Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper), Amanjot Kaur, Devika Vaidya, Anjali Sarvani, Titas Sadhu, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Minnu Mani, Kanika Ahuja, Uma Chetry (wicket-keeper), and Anusha Bareddy.

Standby players for the women's squad include Harleen Deol, Kashvee Gautam, Sneh Rana, Saika Ishaque, and Pooja Vastrakar.

The women's team will compete in a 10-day window from September 19 to 28, while the men's fixtures will follow from September 28 to October 8. All matches will be held at the Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field.

Originally scheduled for 2022 but postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Asian Games will now commence on September 19 and conclude on October 8, 2023.