BCCI Clears Air On 'B Team' Rumours After Report On Japan Facilities
In less than a month, the Indian cricket teams will compete in the Asian Games
- BCCI and ACC are unhappy with cricket facilities in Aichi-Nagoya for Asian Games
- BCCI may send an observer to assess cricket arrangements in Japan for the Games
- BCCI source confirmed India will not send a B team despite facility concerns
In less than a month, the Indian cricket teams will compete in the Asian Games. But before that, the BCCI is concerned about the cricket facilities in Aichi-Nagoya, which will host the Asian Games. According to a report by news agency ANI, the board and the Asian Cricket Council are not satisfied with the facilities and arrangements for cricketers in Japan, and an observer from the BCCI could be sent there. The report added that if the facilities are not found to be up to the mark, the BCCI could consider sending a 'B' team to the competition.
However, a BCCI source has told NDTV that while the issues mentioned in the report are correct, India will not send a B team.
Earlier, ANI quoted a source as saying: "BCCI and ACC are not happy with the facilities and arrangements in Japan, and the board will send an observer there. The observer will submit its report to us, and if arrangements are not up to the mark, we could consider sending a B team there.
"We told Japan Olympic officials during an ACC meeting that the dressing rooms were set up in tents and washrooms were 500 m away from those tents, which has created an unsatisfactory situation for the players. Also, the hotel rooms are really small, and it is a big concern."
Team India secured a gold medal in the previous edition at Hangzhou, China, in 2023, being adjudged winners on the basis of a higher seeding than Afghanistan after the final was washed out. They have named a full-strength line-up for the competition, including skipper Shreyas Iyer; the left-handed batting quartet of Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma; and star pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh.
India men's T20I squad for the Asian Games
Shreyas Iyer (capt), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vice-capt), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Jasprit Bumrah.
The Indian women's squad is led by Harmanpreet Kaur and features several big names who are regulars at the senior level.
Indian women's T20I squad for the Asian Games
Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), G. Kamalini (wk), Bharti Fulmali, Sree Charani, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, Nandni Sharma.
India Cricket Team