BCCI announces Team India Men's squad for Asian Games; Ruturaj Gaikwad to captain side

The Board of Control for Cricket in India's Men's Selection Committee has selected the squad for the upcoming Asian Games which is to be held in Hangzhou, China. Ruturaj Gaikwad has been named as the captain of the side. BCCI issued a statement confirming the development. The men’s cricket competition will take place from 28th September to 8th October. 

3 things you need to know

• The Asian Games 2023 will take place in Hangzhou, China
• Cricket is also a part of the Asian Games
• Men's cricket competition will be played in a T20 format

Team India Men's list selected for Ashes games, Hangzhou

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 Sudarsan.

NEWS 🚨- 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…

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 14, 2023

Also Read | BCCI announces Team India Womens squad for Asian Games, Harmanpreet to captain the side

Shikhar Dhawan snubbed

Ahead of the announcement, there were strong speculations that Shikhar Dhawan would be given the command of the team for the forthcoming tournament. However, as things have panned out Dhawan's name is not even in the squad and BCCI has gone with an all-youngster team.

Shikhar Dhawan playing against Bangladesh at Chattogram; Image: BCB 

As the foremost names of Indian cricket- Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill- would be gearing up for the start of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 at the time this tournament will be played, thus that's the reason why fresh faces have been given the opportunity to represent the blue outfit.

Team will be expected to have a podium finish

While Yashasvi Jaiswal has already announced his arrival on the international front in style, the attention will be on Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma as well, as both have had an exceptional IPL 2023 campaign. The team though is an inexperienced one, but will still be expected to attain the Gold Medal in the games.

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Since it is a continental cup incorporating only Asian teams, formidable competitors like Australia and England will not be a part of the tournament. Moreover, as the ICC World Cup 2023 is scheduled to start from October 5, 2023, thus other primary conders like Pakistan and Sri Lanka will also send their reserves to this tour.