Indian Cricket Teams to Have No Representation in the Asiad Games 2023

BCCI declined cricket to be a part of the Asiad 2023 Games because of being preoccupied with other tournaments and last moment intimation from the organizers.

Written by: Arjita Gupta

Edited by: Krutarth Ghosalkar

Last Updated: 2023-04-21 09:14:23

The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has said that it cannot let women’s and men’s cricket teams enter the Asiad 2023 games because of prior commitments. The continental mega event has entries for all types of sports but cricket is not going to be one of them. The news was confirmed by Bhupender Bajwa, India’s chef de mission for the Asian Games. As the Indian cricket teams will be preoccupied, and will not be able to represent the Asiad Games taking place from 23 September to 8 October.

An official from the cricket board has said that it is true that they got an email from the Indian Olympic Association. But that came just one day before the deadline. And BCCI had already confirmed the FTP for women’s cricket by then. The board said that their teams will not be available in the Asian Games as they will be at that time, competing in a tournament. The BCCI had sent them at the tie of sending the entries to the game organizers. But at that time, they had said they would not go.

For now, the men’s cricket team is supposed to compete in India for ODI World Cup from October to November. The women’s cricket team is also supposed to play New Zealand and South Africa in the limited-overs series. In the past, BCCI has also narrowed down two national teams for competitions. For instance, one team battled Pakistan in Toronto Canada for the Sahara Cup, while another was at Kuala Lumpur for the Commonwealth Games in 1998.

Shikhar Dhawan in the year 2021 captained the second-string Indian Team in Sri Lanka for a series, and Virat Kohli then led another team for a Test series in the UK against England. India participated in Asiad 2010 and 2014 cricket. But the nation skipped both the meets. It was then left out of Asian 2018 in Jakarta, and later on, cricket returned for Hangzhou Games in the program. The same was to be held the last year.

However, China’s zero-Covid policy led to the postponement. The decision to not be a part of the Asian Games is at a time when the country is looking for a place at the Olympics. After the completion of the Asian Games, the meeting of the International Olympic Committee will happen in Mumbai in a few days. And this is when the decision about cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics will be finalized.