Cricket in Asian Games 2023: BCCI to send Indian men’s and women’s teams to Hangzhou – Report

As per an Indian Express report, cricket will be played in the T20 format in the Asian Games 2023, which was postponed by a year due to COVID-19 cases in China. The game is set to make a return to the continental multi-sporting event after missing in 2018 Asiad, held in Jakarta.

The 2023 Asian Games is scheduled to be held from September 23 to October 8 in China’s Hangzhou province. The ICC ODI World Cup in India will be helped between October 5 and November 23.

As per the report in the news daily, the BCCI will be sending a B team for the men’s side because all the regular members of the T20I side also feature in the ODI squad and will be busy with the ODI WC preparations. While the women’s T20 team will comprise all the regular members.

The board will, reportedly, be forwarding the list of players to the Indian Olympic Association before June 30. The women’s cricket team participated in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where cricket made a comeback after a long gap, albeit in women’s form.

Cricket was part of the Asian Games in 2010 and 2014, but India didn’t send a team citing a busy schedule and an already fixed future tours calendar. India’s chef de mission for the Asian Games, Bhupender Bajwa earlier told the news daily that they have made entries in all sports except cricket in the Asiad.

He even claimed that the IOA sent several emails to the BCCI but the latter claimed the teams are preoccupied and they won’t go. However, it is still not clear whether the CWG 2022-silver medallist Indian women’s side will participate in the marquee competition.

India vs Pakistan Cricket Match in Asian Games 2023?

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan will get a chance to lock horns with each other in the Asian Games in China. The marquee clash, even if it misses some of the big stars from both sides – who will be busy with WC preparations – will still be one of the most sought-after contests in the entire competition.

Fans will get to witness India and Pakistan cricketers locking horns with each other just ahead of the highly-anticipated WC clash between the two sides on October 15 (a tentative date) in Ahmedabad. Both teams will have already clashed with each other in the Asia Cup 2023 between August 31 and September 17.