The India Men’s Cricket Team, coached by VVS Laxman, will fly to China for the Asian Games
The second-string men's cricket team of India, coached by VVS Laxman, left for China. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Co. will be starting their Asian Games campaign on September 28. However, captain Gaikwad will join the team next week, as he is part of the India ODI squad for the first two ODIs against Australia starting on September 22. The rest of the Asian Games squad members, like Rahul Tripathi, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, and Akash Deep, have left for China for the Continental Games.
For the uninitiated, Gaikwad-led India will begin their Asian Games campaign on October 28, owing to finishing higher in the ICC Men’s T20I Rankings. BCCI wants Gaikwad to have some game time before the knockout matches of the Asian Games, and hence, the opening batsman is part of the series against Australia.
India will have seven days before they play their first quarter-final match. VVS Laxman is likely to hold intra-squad matches. The second-string team for the Asian Games last featured in the Ireland T20 series. Players like Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep, and Ravi BishnoiGaikwad performed well. Besides playing in that series, a few of the above-mentioned players also played in domestic T20 competitions to prepare for the Asian Games.