New Delhi: According to a source, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to send both the men's and women's senior teams to the Asian Games in 2023. Cricket will be featured in a T20 format at the Asian Games 2023. The BCCI will field a men's B squad while the women's first-string team competes in the big event. The choice to send a B team was made with consideration for the main team's concurrent participation in the 50-over World Cup.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which had previously claimed that it had prior commitments, has changed its mind and will now send both men's and women's teams to the Asian Games, where the game will be played in the T20 format.
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The BCCI would field two different Indian cricket teams simultaneously for the second time this year. In 1998, two Indian teams competed simultaneously in the Sahara Cup and the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. The second instance of this occurred when India, captained by Shikhar Dhawan, played T20 Internationals against Sri Lanka and a different team, led by Virat Kohli, played against England in the United Kingdom.
From September 23 to October 8, China's Hangzhou will host the Asian Games, and from October 5 to November 23, the ICC World Cup. Before June 30, the BCCI will send the Indian Olympic Association the list of players.
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The Asian Games were supposed to take place in China last year, but they were postponed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Indian cricket team will now be competing at the Asian Games, despite BCCI's initial lack of interest in sending a team. A few months earlier, Bhupender Bajwa, India's chef de mission for the Asian Games, said that the BCCI had not responded to emails from the organisation asking whether they would be enthusiastic to compete in the event.
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