Indian men's and women's cricket teams to participate in Hangzhou Asian Games, confirms BCCI

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 7 (ANI): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Apex Council on Friday approved the participation of the men's and women's teams for the Hangzhou Asian Games in September-October 2023.
Asian Games will take place in China this year from September 23 to October 8, 2023. Cricket will be featured in the multi-sport event.
While a full-strength women's squad will be chosen for the competition to begin on September 19, the men's second-string team will begin competing on September 28.
Cricket has been played only twice at the Asian Games. Both editions were not attended by the Indian cricket team.
For the men's team, the Asian Games cricket competition falls during a vital time period because India will host the ODI World Cup beginning on October 5.
In a letter, BCCI stated that fielding a squad in the Asian Games will be difficult given the busy international calendar. India will be the favourite to win gold in both the men's and women's events.
"Through effective planning, communication and coordination, the BCCI aims to navigate those challenges successfully and contribute to the national cause by fielding a team in both men's and women's categories in line with the Government of India's directions," the board said.
The BCCI strives to field successful teams in both categories and support the cause of the country despite the difficulties presented by a hectic international calendar.
Two times, in 2010 and 2014, cricket was played at the Asian Games, however, India did not send a team on each occasion because of other commitments.
In the men's cricket competitions, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka each took home a gold medal, while Pakistan won both editions of the women's competition. (ANI)