Ahead of the start of the Asian Games 2023, Men’s India cricket team for Asian Games 2023 captain Ruturaj Gaikwad opens on leading the team and says the dream will be to win a gold medal for India.
Gaikwad Opens on Leading India in Asian Games 2023
Asian Games 2023 will begin on September 19 and end on October 8, 2023 in Hangzhou. The Asian Games was initially scheduled to take place in 2022 but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
With the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 starting in India on October 5, BCCI plans to send the second-string side to Asian Games without first-team-regulars like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and others.
Ruturaj Gaikwad was named as the captain of the men’s India squad for Asian Games 2023 while Harmanpreet Kaur has been named as the captain of the women’s team.
“The dream will be to win a gold medal, stand on the podium and listen to the National anthem for the country,” Gaikwad, who was named captain of the side on Friday night, said in a video posted by the BCCI.
🗣️ “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒂𝒍, 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚”
A happy and proud @Ruutu1331 is excited to lead #TeamIndia at the #AsianGames 😃 pic.twitter.com/iPZfVU2XW8
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 15, 2023
“I think this opportunity is something special and we will play a brand of cricket that would make everyone back home proud,” he said.
Ruturaj Gaikwad has a descent number in the recently concluded IPL 2023, where the CSK opener scored 590 runs from playing 16 matches including the IPL 2023 final against Gujarat Titans.
Following his IPL 2023 stint, Ruturaj Gaikwad was assigned to lead the Pune based team in the 2023 edition of the Maharashtra Premier League.
“It wil be really exciting to be part of to represent the country in the Asian Games and win the medal for the country. It’s something that we always grew up watching on TV, seeing athletes win it for the country. To get he opportunity, go out there and win the medal will be really, really special”.
“Playing for India itself is really a proud feeling, and leading the side in such a big event, will be a great opportunity for me personally, and also all the team members who are alongside me.”
India Men Squad
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
