Newly appointed captain Ruturaj Gaikwad is ecstatic to captain India in the 2023 Asian Games and🉐 is eying a gold medal.
BCCI has ꦚnamed a second-string side as the continental event is overlappin𒅌g with the 2023 ODI World Cup.
The men's T20 cricket event in Hangzhou will take place between September 28 and October 8ꦰ.
The Asian Games saw Cric♔ket’s inception in 2014 when India were not a participating team. They will feature both men's and women’s teams this time around.
The new leaꦐder dreams of a gold medal as he can’t wait to listen to his country’s anthem while standing on the podium.
&꧙quot;The dream will be to win a gold medal, stand on the podium and listen to the National anthem for the coun𓆏try," said an elated Gaikwad in a video shared by BCCI.
The stylish batter is a part of India’s Test squad for the tour of West Indies. He has represented them on nine occasions in T20Is a𝓀nd has featured in an ODI so far.
"I think this opportunity is something sp𝔉ecial and we will play a brand of cricket that would make eveꦰryone back home proud."
"It will be really exciting to be part of representing the country💫 in the Asian Games and win the medal for the country.”
The Maha﷽rashtra cricketer reckons it will be a special feeli𝓡ng to play aside top athletes from the country and winning a gold medal will be a cherry on top.
"It's something that we alw🌳ays grew up watching on TV, seeing athletes win it for the country. To get the opportunity, go out there and win the meda🌱l will be special," he added.
"Playing for India itself is a proud feeling, and leading the side in suc𒅌h a big event will be a great opportunity for me, and also all🐽 the team members who are alongside me," the star batter concluded.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, and Jitesh 🅠Sharma are a part of the young core which will feature in the event.
Rinku Singh, who caught the attention for his power-hitting and late-order blows in IPL 2023, has received ꦑhis maiden India call-up.
Among others, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar and Av✃esh Khan, who are in the squad for the upcoming T20I leg of the Caribbean tour, are named for the showpiece event.
India 💞Squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, 💖Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Shivam Dube, Prabhsimran Singh (wk)
Stan♕𒅌dbys: Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Sai Sudarsan.
