While India is aiming for its best-ever performance at the Asian Games in Hangzhou this year, it will not be able to rely solely on one sport to add to its medal tally – cricket. Because it is the only sport in which the United States will not be represented at the Games, which will be held from September 23 to October 8.
The men’s and women’s teams will not compete in the continental mega event due to prior commitments, according to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). “We have entries in all sports except one – cricket (team) isn’t going,” Bhupender Bajwa, India’s chef de mission for the Asian Games, told The Press. “They stated that they are preoccupied. We sent them three or four emails, but when it came time to send entries to the organisers, they said they wouldn’t go.”
An official from the cricket board confirmed the news, but added that they received the email from the Indian Olympic Association only “one day before the deadline.” “We received the IOA mail just one day before the deadline. Simultaneously, the BCCI has already finalised the FTP for women’s cricket. “Our team will not be available during the Asian Games because they will be competing in a tournament,” a BCCI official said.
According to the FTP, India’s women will play limited overs series against South Africa and New Zealand. Meanwhile, the men’s team will compete in the ODI World Cup on home soil in October-November. However, there have been times when the BCCI has fielded two national teams. An Indian team competed in the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, while another faced Pakistan in the Sahara Cup in Toronto, Canada. Shikhar Dhawan recently led a second-string Indian team to a series in Sri Lanka in 2021, while another team, captained by Virat Kohli, was in the UK ahead of a Test series against England.
Cricket has played in two Asiad editions, in 2010 and 2014, but India has missed both. Cricket has returned to the Hangzhou Games after being excluded from the 2018 Asiad in Jakarta. The Hangzhou Games were originally scheduled for last year but were postponed due to China’s zero-Covid policy.
The BCCI’s decision to skip the Asian Games comes as cricket competes for a spot in the Olympics. In fact, just days after the Asian Games, an International Olympic Committee session in Mumbai will be held to discuss cricket’s potential inclusion in the Olympics.
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