BCCI announces changes to India men's and women's cricket teams for Asian Games

BCCI has announced changes to the initial cricket squad of both men's and women's teams.

The upcoming Asian Games will be the first instance where cricket - both men's and women's - is included. India had recently announced the squad for both men's and women's competitions but made a few last-minute changes on Saturday.

In the Men's squad for the Asian Games 2023, Akash Deep will replace Shivam Mavi. The 26-year-old made his T20 debut for Bengal in the 2018/19 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and has featured in 34 T20 matches. He has gathered 39 wickets with an economy rate of 7.38.

Akash Deep is also a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore. He was initially included in the RCB squad for the second phase of IPL 2021 as the replacement of the injured Washington Sundar. The bowling all-rounder has played seven IPL matches and has bagged six wickets.

Akash Deep will be replacing Shivam Mavi in the Men's squad. The pacer sustained a back injury, ruling him out of the competition.

The Indian men's team will be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad and will feature a second-string team. The men's competition in the Asian Games will begin on September 27 and will run until October 7.

India's Men's squad for the Asian Games: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Shivam Dube, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Akash Deep.

Standby players: Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Sai Sudarsan.

Pooja Vastrakar added to the Women's Asian Games squad

BCCI has added Pooja Vastrakar to the main squad for the Asian Games. The all-rounder will replace Anjali Sarvani in the main team. Anjali, who picked up a knee injury during the camp, has been ruled out of the Asian Games. Pooja Vastrakar was initially named as the stand-by in the squad, now, she will feature in the main team.

The Indian women's team will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur and will see a full-strength squad. Indian Women's competition will begin on September 19 and will end on September 25. Harmanpreet, however might miss two games as she's banned by ICC for two international matches, following her outburst against match officials in ODI series against Bangladesh.

India's Women's Squad for the Asian Games: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Devika Vaidya, Titas Sadhu, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Minnu Mani, Kanika Ahuja, Uma Chetry (wk), Anusha Bareddy, Pooja Vastrakar.

Standby players: Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana, Saika Ishaque, Kashvee Gautam.