Cricket will return to the Asian Games after a gap of eight years, and India will send their first ever squads for both the men’s and women’s events. Here are the key takeaways from the Indian men’s squad.

Cricket was part of the Asian Games in Guangzhou, 2010, and in Incheon, 2014, and will return at Hangzhou 2022 after a miss at Jakarta-Palembang 2018.

Having never sent a team at the Asian Games, India will now participate in both the men’s and women’s versions. Predictably, they have named a full-strength women’s team but a second-string squad for the men’s event, which will overlap with the World Cup.

India Men squad for Asian Games 2023

Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Shivam Dube. Standbys: Yash Thakur, R Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, B Sai Sudharsan

IPL stars dominate

Nearly every single cricketer in the squad has been rewarded for at least one outstanding IPL season since the lockdown of 2020. While it seems a logical thing to do, it is rare to see a squad being announced without a grumbling from the fans of any of the ten IPL franchises.

Some, like Gaikwad, Avesh, Shahbaz, Tripathi, Arshdeep, Dube, and Mavi, have played for India before. Some, like Mukesh and Tilak, will probably play for India before the Asian Games. And some, like Rinku, will finally get a chance to impress.

Shikhar Dhawan: Axed or World Cup probable?

In 2022, India played the most ODIs (24) and most T20Is (40) of any team, along with their matches in the World Test Championship. In an effort to focus on the workload management of the cricketers, the BCCI rotated the cricketers for the two formats.

As a result, Dhawan, one of India’s greatest ODI cricketers of all time, spent the year ‘chaperoning’ his country’s inexperienced cricketers. Unfortunately, it was also the year when his form took a nosedive.

Until 2021, Dhawan had made 6,184 runs at 45.80 at a strike rate of 94. In 2022, he added another 688 to that tally, but at 34.40 and 74. At the same time, Shubman Gill announced himself in 50-over cricket with 638 runs at 70.88 and 103, often opening the batting with Dhawan.

As a result, when Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returned to the side, the lone spot left in the top three went to Gill, not Dhawan. In 2023, as India moved on from Dhawan, Gill’s numbers soared to 78 and 118.

Dhawan, unlikely to feature in the World Cup, was touted by many to lead India at the Asian Games – something he had done in 2021, when India toured Sri Lanka while their Test players were in England.

His omission from the Asian Games squad has led to speculation around him being part of the standbys at the World Cup, but that might not be the sole reason.

Was Dhawan part of the plan anyway? When England toured India in 2020/21, Dhawan opened in the first T20I, but Ishan Kishan replaced him in the second. The only T20Is he has played since then were in Sri Lanka, which was, as discussed, a stopgap arrangement.

He has been out of the T20I radar anyway. He may still be among the World Cup standbys – his ODI career record and him being a left-hander are both significant – but his omission from the Asian Games squad is not an indicator of that.

What about Sanju Samson?

Fans of Sanju Samson have a reason to be upset. An ODI average of 66 and a strike rate of 105 almost screams at being picked, more so if you can keep wicket. Yet, 11 ODIs is all Samson has played.

Samson has struck at over 145 in in four of the last five editions of the IPL, and at 166 across his six T20Is. In 2022, he led Rajasthan Royals to the IPL final. About a decade younger than Dhawan, he would have been the obvious choice as captain at the Asian Games.

His omission almost certainly hints at him being part of the World Cup shortlist. With Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul both uncertain, Samson is perhaps second in pecking order when it comes to ODI wicketkeepers, after Kishan.

What lies ahead of Bishnoi and Arshdeep?

With Jasprit Bumrah still uncertain – as we saw in 2022, a pre-World Cup return does not guarantee World Cup availability – and no update on Prasidh Krishna, the selectors might have backed Arshdeep, at least as standby, for his death-bowling abilities, if not for the left-armer’s angle.

Picking him for the Asian Games ensures he is not part of the World Cup mix. If Bumrah or Prasidh is not available, India’s pace attack may consist of Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, and Hardik Pandya, with perhaps Umran Malik and Bhuvneshwar Kumar heading the standbys.

By picking Bishnoi (as well as Sundar and Shahbaz), on the other hand, the selectors have as good as declared that the World Cup spin pool will consist of the familiar quintet of Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, and R Ashwin. Of them, three, or even four, may make it to the squad.

A successor to Thala?

MS Dhoni will be nearly 43 by the time the next IPL begins, but he has promised to be around this one final time. However, at some point, the Chennai Super Kings will need a successor to him.

The experiment with Ravindra Jadeja in 2022 failed after he quit halfway through the competition. Ben Stokes’ 2023 season ended in injuries, and he is not getting any younger either. Moeen Ali, the other senior, is four years older than Stokes.

Gaikwad’s appointment as captain raised few eyebrows, but if he brings a gold medal home, there is little doubt that he will be elevated to Chennai captain once Dhoni calls it a day.