Cricket News: BCCI refuses to send Indian teams for Asian Games

Despite the Indian Olympic Association's repeated appeals, BCCI has opted not to send Indian cricket teams to 2023 Asian Games.

The Asian Games will now take place in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8. It is worth mentioning that India will not be represented at the Asiad in any sport other than cricket.

India's chef de mission for the Asian Games, Bhupender Bajwa, announced that the country has entrants in all sports except cricket. According to Bajwa, the BCCI cited international duties as the rationale for not sending teams to the quadrennial event.

"We have entries in all sports except one - cricket (team) isn't going. They said they are preoccupied. We sent 3-4 emails to them but when we had to send entries to the organisers, they said they won't go,"

Bajwa told Indian Express.

According to the article, a BCCI official stated that the IOA sent the email a day before the entry deadline.

He also stated that the BCCI had already finalised the FTP for women's cricket at the time, adding that the women's team will be unavailable for the Asian Games due to limited-overs series against South Africa and New Zealand. while the men's team will be in action in October-November in the ODI World Cup at home.

"We had received the mail from IOA just one day before the deadline. At the same time, the BCCI already has finalised the FTP for women's cricket. During the Asian Games, our team won't be available as they will be playing in a tournament,"

the BCCI official quoted as saying by Indian Express.

The BCCI has previously vetoed sending cricket teams to the Asian Games in 2010 and 2014, despite cricket being a part of the athletic event. Cricket, on the other hand, was left out of the 2018 Asian Games. The BCCI did, however, allow the women's team to compete in last year's Commonwealth Games, where they won a silver medal.

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