"Dream would be to win Gold"- Ruturaj Gaikwad reacts after being named as India captain for Asian Games 2023

Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead India's Men's Cricket team for the Asian Games 2023.

On Friday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India's men's and women's squads for the upcoming Asian Games 2023. The upcoming event is the 19th edition, which will take place in Hangzhou, China. It saw the Indian board select all the new faces who did well at domestic and IPL levels. Indian opener Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead the 15-member squad in the event.

The competition for the men's cricket team will start on September 28 and end on October 8, and will be played in T20I format. Rinku Singh also got his chance and got his maiden T20I call-up. Notably, with not much time left in the upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup in India, the BCCI has picked an Indian B side for the Asian Games 2023. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Washington Sundar, Rahul Triphathi, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Mavi, and Shivam Dube are some players who have represented India at international cricket.

"Dream would be to win Gold"- Ruturaj Gaikwad after being picked as Indian captain ahead of Asian Games 2023

Notably, cricket was played in Asian games last time in 2014, and India didn't send any men's or women's teams for the competition. Thus, this will be a great chance for India to go for gold in the upcoming event. However, after being appointed as the team's captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad opened up and said that they would go for gold in the Asian Games. The BCCI posted a video on Twitter featuring Ruturaj Gaikwad. He thanked everyone for the opportunity he got to lead the country in a big event.

He said, "Playing for India is a big thing and leading the team in a big event, is a great opportunity for me and also for all the other team members. I think it’s a really fun group to be a part of and I think it will be really exciting for everyone who are part of the squad to represent the country in the Asian Games and obviously to win a medal for the country is something we always grew up watching on television and seeing athletes win it for the country. Obviously to get the opportunity to go out there and win the medal will be very, very special. The dream obviously would be to win the gold medal, stand on the podium and singing the national anthem for our country."

Reportedly, India will play the quarterfinal directly in the championship. The schedule is yet to be announced, but fans are excited to see young players get their chances. Prabhsimran Singh also got his maiden call-up to the T20I team.