Star Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan is set to make a comeback as captain of the Indian cricket team at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou. With Shikhar leading the side, legendary Indian player VVS Laxman will be occupying the position of head coach for the tournament.
Recently, the BCCI revealed that the national men's and women's cricket teams will be competing in the forthcoming Asian Games. Though in 2010 and 2014, the Indian cricket team didn't participate in the tournament, But finally, the Board has agreed to send both teams to China.
Earlier, there were a few reservations regarding sending Team India to China, as the tournament coincides with both the Asia Cup and the ICC Cricket World Cup.
The Asian Games will take place in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8. On the other hand, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will take place in India from October 5 to November 19.
Most of the senior players, including Rohit Sharma, and former Indian captain Virat Kohli will be busy with the World Cup. A different unit will represent India in the Asian Games.
Though there are no official updates about the Indian squad, it is assumed that the Punjab Kings captain will lead the side. In total, Dhawan has played 174 ODI matches and scored 6896 runs in 171 Innings with a strike rate of 90.8 and an average of 39.63.
Dhawan was named India's captain for the first time in the ODI and T20I matches against Sri Lanka in June 2021. He has captained India in 12 ODI matches, winning seven of them.