National Cricket Academy head and former Indian batter VVS Laxman will be head of the Indian Men’s Cricket for the Asian Games 2023, while Indian all-rounder Hrishikesh Kanitkar will serve as interim head coach of Women’s Cricket team in the continental event in China.
This will be the first time India will send its cricket teams- both men’s and women’s- to the cricket event in the Asian Games. The Men in Blue will be up against the arch-rivals Pakistan and other Asian teams for the elusive Gold Medal in the event. The matches are expected to be played in the 20-over format of the game.
The Asian Games were originally planned to take place in September 2022 but were later postponed by one year because of the Covid 19 Pandemic. Both men’s and women’s tournaments will be held in the event. Before this edition, cricket was last played at the Asian Games in 2014.
Both Men and Women’s teams will look to win the elusive Gold Medal going up against the big Asian teams in the event. The 15-day-long continental showpiece shifted from 2022 to 2023 due to COVID-19, will feature 40 sports this year, with Asia’s best competing for top honours. The cricket event will be played in T20 format and is set to be played Hangzhou in China, from September 19 to October 7.
According to reports, VVS Laxman will head the coaching team with Sairaj Bahutule and Munish Bale assisting him for the mega event. This is not the first time Laxman will be the acting head coach of the Indian team. After the Indian team’s semifinal exit from the T20 World Cup last year, Laxman stepped in for the New Zealand series.
India team will send a second-string Men’s side for the continental event under the leadership of Ruturaj Gaikwad, as the main squad will be playing the ODI World Cup 2023 in India. The players who have performed well in the Indian Premier League and domestic cricket are given the opportunity in the absence of the key Indian players in the team.
The BCCI decided to field a full-strength India women’s team captained by Harmanpreet Kaur, as the women will fancy their chances to do well in the continental event in China.