Cricket will be making a comeback in the Asian Games in Hangzhou 2022, but the chances of Indian men's and women's teams playing in the continental multi-sporting event are very slim. And the biggest reason is the scheduling. (More Cricket News)
Both the men's and women's tournaments in the 2022 Asian Games, to be held from September 10 to 25, will be played under Twenty20 International format. Cricket was last played at the Asian Games in 2014.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah said that the board will take a decision on Indian teams' participation in the Asian Games later.
"As far as the Asian Games in Hangzhou is concerned, a final decision on whether to send both men's and women's teams will be taken later and based on our existing commitments," Shah told Reuters.
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Shah also said that India honouring bilateral commitments was particularly important in a post-Covid world.
"The BCCI has always stood by member boards and helped them in these difficult times," Shah added. "The board firmly believes in honouring its bilateral commitments. We are committed to our fans here in India and it is absolutely important that we safeguard our home season. The FTP [Future Tours Programme] that has been created it needs to be adhered to."
Cricket's return to the Asian Games is widely seen as a positive step with the International Cricket Council's push for the sport's inclusion in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles gaining momentum after a change in BCCI's stance.
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Shah, who is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council, stressed that "inclusion of cricket in the Olympics is good for the growth of the game."
"The BCCI and ICC are on the same page on this and agree that the inclusion of cricket in the Olympics is good for the growth of the game," added Shah.
Cricket was introduced to the Asian Games programme in Guangzhou 2010. But India opted against sending teams citing congested schedules. For the same reason, India also skipped cricket events in the next Asian Games in Incheon.
Slamming the move, the then Olympic Council of Asia president Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah had said that "I'm sorry that India, for the second Games, did not send a team."
"I respect their decision but I believe the people in charge are not interested in promotion of the game but only in making it a business, in making money out of it.
"They want to control the market and control the game," he added.
The Indian men's team, which will bid for a second T20 World Cup title in Australia from October 16, may well skip the Asian Games 2022 to avoid injury and fatigue to its star players.
Also, the women's team, which will compete in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in July-August, already have a planned tour of England for three ODIs and an equal number of T20Is.
