- By Himanshu Badola
- Tue, 03 Oct 2023 07:54 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Former India batter VVS Laxman is the head coach for the Indian team playing in the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China as he called the moment of representing the nation at the showpiece event as a matter of "great pride" for the players taking part.
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Indian team kicked off their campaign in men's cricket at the Asiad against Nepal in the quarter-final as they look to progress further, aiming for a gold medal.
On the eve of the quarterfinal clash, Laxman talked about the prospect of playing in China and also talked about the platform and opportunity the Asian Games have provided to the players.
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"It is very different we never thought that we would play cricket in China, I think it is a great opportunity for the entire team because participating in the Asian Games is itself a big opportunity and a matter of great pride for all these players," Laxman had said ahead of the opening fixture.
India's young opener Ruturaj Gaikwad is leading the second-string side of Men in Blue with the main team busy in their World Cup campaign at home.
Ahead of the match, on being quizzed whether he would draw inspiration from Dhoni or not, Gaikwad said, "I have learned a lot. Everyone has a different style his (Dhoni's) style is different, his personality is different my personality is different. So I think I would try to be just myself and look to what he does. Obviously, you have to pick out some things that he really does well, like how he handles situations and particular players during the match. I would like to lead the way I want. I just want players to express themselves."
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Talking about the match, India reached a promising total after opting to bat first as the start opener Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed a splendid hundred.
India Squad for Asian Games 2023: Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma(w), Prabhsimran Singh, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi, Akash Deep