2023 Asian Games: Ruturaj Gaikwad to lead men's team; Harman to captain women's squad

The BCCI on Friday night announced the men's and women's squads for the upcoming Asian Games, which will take place in Hangzhou in China. Cricket will be featured in the Games in the T20 format.

Mumbai (Maharashtra): Young flamboyant batter Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead the Indian team in the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games. The squads for the Asian Games were announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India late Friday night. The men’s cricket competition will take place from September 28 to October 8 in a T20 format.

The Men's team was selected by the national selection committee headed by former India pacer Ajit Agarkar. Asian Games will take place in China this year from September 23 to October 8, 2023. Cricket will be featured in the multi-sport event. On the back of his splendid performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Uttar Pradesh's batter Rinku Singh has been included in the Indian team for Asian Games. Wicketkeeper-batters Jitesh Sharma (who represents Vidarbha in domestic cricket) and Prabhsimran Singh (who represents Punjab in domestic cricket) claimed a place in the squad.

Pune-based Gaikwad, who represents Maharashtra in domestic cricket, slammed 590 runs in 16 matches for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2023. Jitesh and Rinku scored 309 and 474 runs for Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in the cash-rich league. Young batter Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made a memorable Test debut by slamming a hundred against West Indies, has also been included in the squad.

All-rounder Shivam Dube, who was the backbone of Chennai Super Kings' middle order in the IPL 2023, has made a comeback to the national team.

Meanwhile, experienced batter Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the women's team in the Asian Games. The BCCI also named the women's squad late Friday night. Opener Smriti Mandhana will be Harmanpreet's deputy for the Asian Games.

India (Senior Men) squad for Asian Games: Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Shivam Dube and Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper). Standby list of players: Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, and Sai Sudarsan.

India (Senior Women) squad for Asian Games: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (Vice Captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Amanjot Kaur, Devika Vaidya, Anjali Sarvani, Titas Sadhu, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Minnu Mani, Kanika Ahuja, Uma Chetry (wicketkeeper), and Anusha Bareddy. Standby list of players: Harleen Deol, Kashvee Gautam, Sneh Rana, Saika Ishaque, Pooja Vastrakar.