The 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, is set to showcase cricket brilliance with VVS Laxman and Hrishikesh Kanitkar taking centre stage as head coaches for the men's and women's Indian cricket teams respectively.
Laxman, renowned as the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, has previously stood in as the men's head coach during some of India's tours, especially when Rahul Dravid took breaks. He will be leading a reserve squad with Ruturaj Gaikwad as the captain.
Hrishikesh Kanitkar's Continued Leadership
Meanwhile, Hrishikesh Kanitkar's journey as a head coach has seen him lead the women's team through the home T20I series versus Australia the previous December.
Further, he masterminded the tri-series in South Africa and displayed his prowess during the Women's T20 World Cup in 2023. After Ramesh Powar's shift to the NCA, Nooshin Al Khadeer stepped up as the interim head coach during the women's white-ball tour in Bangladesh. However, with the Asian Games, Kanitkar is hoping to help the team win their first trophy as a team.
Coaching units supporting Laxman & Hrishikesh Kanitkar
Complementing Laxman's efforts for the men's squad will be Sairaj Bahutule, taking the role of bowling coach, and Munish Bali as the fielding coach. Similarly, Kanitkar will have Rajib Dutta to guide the women's bowling strategies and Subhadeep Ghosh to enhance their fielding prowess.
With both teams ready, they are poised to make an entrance directly into the quarter-finals of the Asian Games. On the men's side, the quarter-final is slated for October 3, with possible semi-finals on October 5, leading to the title showdown on October 7. The women's team, on the other hand, will face their quarter-final challenge on September 21.
Success here will lead them to a potential semi-final on September 23 and a final contest on September 25. Cricket enthusiasts can catch these enthralling matches at the Zhejiang University of Technology's Pingfeng campus cricket ground.
India men's team for Asian Games 2023: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), 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)
Standby players: Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Sai Sudarsan
India women's team for Asian Games 2023: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Devika Vaidya, Anjali Sarvani, Titas Sadhu, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Minnu Mani, Kanika Ahuja, Uma Chetry (wk), Anusha Bareddy.
Standby players: Harleen Deol, Kashvee Gautam, Sneh Rana, Saika Ishaque, Pooja Vastrakar.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK
'I am very tired,' says Virat Kohli after 47th ODI century as India gear up for final two Asia Cup 2023 matches
Asia Cup 2023: After injuries to two key pacers, Pakistan call up potential replacements as 'precautionary measures'
