The men's cricket event in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China will see 15 teams battling it out for the top honours. The event gets underway on September 27. The bronze and gold medal match will be played on October 7.
For the unversed, cricket was part of the Asian Games in 2010 and 2014. However, in 2018, the sport was absent from the Asian Games. Much to the delight of the cricket fans, the sport is back and will promises to be an intriguing spectacle.
By virtue of their respective ICC rankings, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh have directly progressed to the quarterfinals. The remaining 11 teams will try to grab the four spots available in the last-eight stage of the competition. The other 11 teams include Afghanistan, Mongolia, Cambodia, Japan, Nepal, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Bahrain, and Maldives. These teams have been divided into four groups and the group winners will only make the cut for the quarterfinals.
As the ODI World Cup is set to begin on October 5 in India, teams like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan are sending second-string teams to compete in the Asian Games 2023. However, there is no lack of cricketing talent in some of these teams as was evident during the Emerging Men's Asia Cup earlier this year.
India have given opportunities to some of their rising stars who have done exceedingly well in the Indian Premier League and domestic cricket in recent times. Ruturaj Gaikwad has been named as the skipper and he will have the likes of Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and many more quality cricketers in his team.
Pakistan will be led by uncapped Qasim Akram in the competition. However, there is enough experience in the form of players like Asif Ali and Mohammad Hasnain. Players like Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Usman Qadir, and Shahnawaz Dahani have decent experience of playing in international cricket. Some of the players who were part of the Pakistan side that won the Emerging Asia Cup have also been named in the squad for the Asian Games like Omair Bin Yousuf and Arshad Iqbal, among others.
Sri Lanka will be led by Sahan Arachchige, who replaced Maheesh Theekshana in the Asia Cup 2023 squad, ahead of the final against India last week. Experienced players like Ashen Bandara and Nuwan Thushara will have to guide a lot of younger players present on the side.
Opening batter Saif Hassan will be leading the Bangladesh side which features experienced campaigners like Yasir Ali and Mosaddek Hossain. The exciting Tanzim Hasan Sakib, who made a sparkling international debut against India in the Asia Cup, will be one of the players to watch out for because of his ability to swing the ball in both directions.
Asian Games 2023 Qualifying Groups
| Groups | A | B | C | D |
| Teams | Afghanistan, Mongolia | Cambodia, Nepal, Japan | Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand | Malaysia, Bahrain, Maldives |
Asian Games 2023 Schedule:
| Date | Day | Fixture | Time |
| 27.9.2023 | Wednesday | Nepal vs Japan | 6:30 AM |
| 27.9.2023 | Wednesday | Hong Kong vs Singapore | 11:30 AM |
| 28.9.2023 | Thursday | Malaysia vs Bahrain | 6:30 AM |
| 28.9.2023 | Thursday | Japan vs Cambodia | 11:30 AM |
| 29.9.2023 | Friday | Maldives vs Malaysia | 6:30 AM |
| 29.9.2023 | Friday | Singapore vs Thailand | 11:30 AM |
| 1.10.2023 | Sunday | Afghanistan vs Mongolia | 6:30 AM |
| 1.10.2023 | Sunday | Cambodia vs Nepal | 11:30 AM |
| 2.10.2023 | Monday | Thailand vs Hong Kong | 6:30 AM |
| 2.10.2023 | Monday | Bahrain vs Maldives | 11:30 AM |
| 3.10.2023 | Tuesday | India (top-ranked team) vs TBD [Quarterfinal 1] | 6:30 AM |
| 3.10.2023 | Tuesday | Pakistan (second-ranked team) vs TBD [Quarterfinal 2] | 11:30 AM |
| 4.10.2023 | Wednesday | Sri Lanka (third-ranked team) vs TBD [Quarterfinal 3] | 6:30 AM |
| 4.10.2023 | Wednesday | Bangladesh (fourth-ranked team) vs TBD [Quarterfinal 4] | 11:30 AM |
| 6.10.2023 | Friday | Winner of Quarterfinal 1 vs Winner of Quarterfinal 4 | 6:30 AM |
| 6.10.2023 | Friday | Winner of Quarterfinal 2 vs Winner of Quarterfinal 3 | 11:30 AM |
| 7.10.2023 | Saturday | Bronze medal Match [3rd/4th place] | 6:30 AM |
| 7.10.2023 | Saturday | Gold medal Match [Final] | 11:30 AM |
*All the matches will be played at the Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field, China.
Asian Games 2023 full squad:
India Men's Squad For Asian Games 2023: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Shivam Dube, Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Rahul Tripathi, Shahbaz Ahmed, Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Akash Deep
Pakistan Men's Squad For Asian Games 2023: Qasim Akram (captain), Omair Bin Yousuf (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Arafat Minhas, Arshad Iqbal, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mirza Tahir Baig, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Akhlaq (wk), Rohail Nazir, Shahnawaz Dahani, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Qadir.
Non-travelling reserves - Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Muhammad Irfan Khan Niazi and Mubasir Khan
Sri Lanka Men's Squad For Asian Games 2023: Lasith Croospulle, Shevon Daniel, Ashen Bandara, Sahan Arachichige (captain), Ahan Wickramasinghe, Lahiru Udara (wicketkeeper), Ravindu Fernando, Ranitha Liyanarachchi, Nuwanidu Fernando, Sachitha Jayatilake, Vijaykanth Viyaskanth, Nimesh Vimukthi, Lahiru Samarakoon, Nuwan Thushara, Isitha Wijesundera
Bangladesh Men's Squad For Asian Games 2023: Saif Hassan (captain), Jaker Ali, Yasir Ali, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Parvez Hossain Emon, Zakir Hasan, Rakibul Hasan, Mosaddek Hossain, Rishad Hossain, Shahadat Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Sumon Khan, Ripon Mondol, Tanzim Hasan Sakib
Nepal Men's Squad For Asian Games 2023: Rohit Paudel (captain), Aasif Sheikh, Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Sandeep Jora, Binod Bhandari, Dipendra Singh Airee, Bibek Yadav, Gulshan Jha, Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Sandeep Lamichhane, Pratish GC, Lalit Rajbanshi, Avinash Bohara
Japan Men's Squad For Asian Games 2023: Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (captain), Ryan Drake, Kazuma Kato-Stafford, Shogo Kimura, Kouhei Kubota, Wataru Miyauchi, Reo Sakurano-Thomas, Alexander Shirai-Patmore, Declan Suzuki-McComb, Muneeb Siddique Mian, Tsuyoshi Takada, Ibrahim Takahashi, Makoto Taniyama, Ashley Thurgate, Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake. Reserves: Kento Ota-Dobell, Marcus Thurgate, Jun Yamashita
Singapore Men's Squad For Asian Games 2023: Navin Param, Abdul Rahman Bhadelia, Aryaman Uchil, Ishaan Paul Sawney, Aahan Achar, Rezza Gaznavi (captain), Chetan Suryawanshi, Janak Prakash, Avi Dixit, Anantha Krishna, Anish Paraam, Vinoth Baskaran, Rohan Rangarajan, Raoul Sharma, Sachin Banamali, Daksh T, Arjun Murteja, Harsh Venkat, Advait Bhargava, Kabir Berlia, Thilipan Omadurai, Glen M
Hong Kong Men's Squad For Asian Games 2023: Nizakat Khan (captain), Adil Mehmood, Akbar Khan, Anas Khan, Ayush Shukla, Babar Hayat, Eshan Khan, Hamed Khan, Mohammad Ghazanfar, Mohammad Hassan Khan, Muhammad Khan, Nasrullah Rana, Niaz Ali, Shahid Wasif, Shiv Mathur
Malaysia Men's Squad For Asian Games 2023: Raoul Sharma, Ishaan Paul Sawney, Aman Desai, Abdul Rahman Bhadelia, Uchil Aryaman Sunil, Janak Prakash, Rohan Rangarajan, Avi Dixit, Aahan Gopinath Achar, Navin Michael S Param, Rezza Gaznavi, Anish Edward Paraam, Arjun Mutreja, Suryawanshi Chetan Ramchandra
Afghanistan Men's Squad For Asian Games 2023: TBA
Cambodia Men's Squad For Asian Games 2023: TBA
Mongolia Men's Squad For Asian Games 2023: TBA
Thailand Men's Squad For Asian Games 2023: TBA
Bahrain Men's Squad For Asian Games 2023: TBA
Maldives Men's Squad For Asian Games 2023: TBA
Asian Cup 2023 Broadcast and Live Stream details:
The fans will get to see cricketing action from the upcoming Asian Games 2023 on Sony Sports Network TV channels. The live stream will be available on Sony Liv.
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