Indian Women’s Cricket Team to Play in Asian Games

Introduction

The Indian women’s cricket team will be playing in its first Asian Games at Hangzhou as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a 20-member squad and five standby players.

T20 Format at Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field

The event will be played in the T20 format, from September 28 to October 8, with all matches scheduled to take place at the Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field.

Leadership Change: Smriti Mandhana as Captain

The India women’s cricket squad will be captained by Smriti Mandhana. Harmanpreet Kaur was initially supposed to lead the team. However, she will miss two matches after being suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for her outburst in an ODI against Bangladesh.

“Harmanpreet Kaur has been suspended for the next two international matches following two separate breaches of the ICC Code of Conduct,” said the ICC in a statement.

Notable Players in the Squad

• Jemimah Rodrigues
• Shafali Verma
• Deepti Sharma
• Richa Ghosh

History of Cricket at Asian Games

Before Hangzhou, cricket was played at the Asian Games twice – at Guangzhou in 2010 and Incheon in 2014. Pakistan won the women’s events by beating Bangladesh in the final in both editions.

This is the second time the Indian women’s cricket team will play at a multi-sport event after the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. India women won a silver medal after losing to Australia in the final.