The men’s and women’s cricket teams’ participation in the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China in September-October was approved by the BCCI Apex Council on Friday. The men’s competition will start on September 28 with a backup Indian team, and the women’s competition will start on September 19 with a full-strength team.
The competition takes place at a critical moment for the men’s team because India will be hosting the ODI World Cup beginning on October 5.
Only three times in the history of the Asian Games has cricket been played, with the most recent game taking place in Incheon in 2014 with India not participating.
In a letter, BCCI stated that fielding a squad in the Asian Games will be difficult given the busy international calendar, but supporting the national cause is also crucial.
“Through effective planning, communication and co-ordination, the BCCI aims to navigate those challenges successfully and contribute to the national cause by fielding a team in both men’s and women’s category in line with the Government of India’s directions,” the board said.
India will be the favorite to win gold in both the men’s and women’s events.
IPL Style Impact Player Rule To Be Introduced In Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy
In another major decision, the BCCI also approved the inclusion of an IPL-style impact player rule in the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy beginning October 16.
The Impact Player was introduced in SMAT last season but it had to be brought before the end of the 14th over and had to be named before the toss.
However, this coming season onwards, like in IPL, the teams will be allowed to name four substitutes besides the playing eleven before the toss. Out of the four substitutes, only one can be used as an Impact Player.
“Both teams are allowed to use one Impact Player per match. It is, however, not compulsory,” read one of the guidelines on the rule.
Impact Player was used widely by the 10 IPL teams but the introduction of it divided opinions.