The Asian Games 2023 will take place in China’s Hangzhou from September 23rd to October 8th and the BCCI is set to send both the men’s and women’s cricket teams for the event and reports are saying that Shikhar Dhawan might captain the Indian B team to the event.
The decision on the same might be taken in the BCCI Apex Council meeting on July 7.
The Asian Games now feature cricket as well, and India is most likely to send a cricket team for the first time. Both the Men's and Women's teams will compete in this prestigious event, although the Men's team will be a backup team because of the conflict with the 2023 ODI World Cup.
As per reports, due to the clash, BCCI has to look for a “B team” to send to China, which will include players who are not going to be the part of 2023 ODI World Cup Squad. Shikhar Dhawan, who previously acted as stand-by captain might be the best fit to lead the team for Asian Games.
The left-handed opener is no longer in favor of BCCI selectors and his experience will come in handy to lead a young squad. He captained the Indian team in the interim in 2021 against Sri Lanka and led the team in the ODI series in West Indies last year, winning the series for the Men in Blue back then.
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During the same meeting, the BCCI is also expected to formulate a new policy for “retired players for participation overseas".
This comes after the likes of Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, and most recently Ambati Rayudu retired from Indian cricket and the IPL and signed with foreign T20 leagues.
The idea could be to ensure that the standard of domestic cricket doesn’t erode further as the mushrooming of T20 franchise cricket might lead to a lot of premature retirements.
The BCCI top brass will also decide on the roadmap for upgrading stadiums for the ODI World Cup at home. The ICC event will be played across 10 venues and most of them are in need of a facelift.
The board is without a broadcaster for the home season and a jersey sponsor after the premature exit of BYJU's. Those two matters will also be deliberated upon in the meeting.
Playing conditions for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy will be finalized as well.
(PTI inputs)
