A second-string Indian team, led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, will be travelling to China as cricket returns to Asiad. Scheduled to take place from September 23 to October 8, the 19th Asian Games will see both men’s and women’s teams taking part. While the women’s team will feature all regulars, including Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, the men’s team will comprise youngsters as the seniors will be gearing up for the 50-over World Cup, starting October 5 in India.
The BCCI on Friday announced the squads and handed Ruturaj captaincy of the men’s team. The Maharashtra batter has been touring the West Indies and on Saturday, thanked the Indian cricket board for giving him a massive opportunity.
“Really thankful for this opportunity. Playing for India itself is a proud feeling. Leading the side in such a big event will be a great opportunity for me personally and also for all the other members. So really looking forward, really happy and obviously very proud,” Gaikwad said in a video shared by BCCI on Twitter.
“I think it will be great fun because we all are youngsters and we have been really gelling around well with each other for the last one or two years, playing the IPL against each other, playing the India A games. Then some India games as well so I think it’s a really fun group to be a part of and I think it will be really exciting for everyone who is part of the squad to represent the country in the Asian Games and obviously to win a medal for the country is something we always grew up watching on television and seeing athletes win it for the country. Obviously to get the opportunity to go out there and win the medal will be very, very special,” he added.
The Chennai Super Kings opener assured that the team will make the country proud and give its best shot to clinch gold.
“As Indian fans, everyone supports whatever sports the country is playing. Any series or any World Cups but I think this is something special. We will definitely play a brand of cricket where everyone back home will be proud and it’ll also be exciting to watch. The dream obviously would be to win the gold medal, stand on the podium and sing the national anthem for our country,” Gaikwad concluded.
️ “ , ”A happy and proud @Ruutu1331 is excited to lead #TeamIndia at the #AsianGames pic.twitter.com/iPZfVU2XW8
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 15, 2023
The men’s team boast youngsters like Tilak Varma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube and Shivam Mavi. At the same time, the BCCI has also handed maiden call-ups to Rinknu Singh and Punjab wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh. The standby list includes Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda and Sai Sudharsan.
Team India (Senior Men) squad for 19th Asian Games: Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), 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).
Standby list of players: Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Sai Sudharsan.
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