Asian Games 2023: VVS Laxman, Hrishikesh Kanitkar to coach India's cricket teams
Indian cricket stalwart VVS Laxman will be the head coach of the men’s team while Hrishikesh Kanitkar will guide the women’s squad at the Hangzhou Games 2023.
Cricket
Former India players VVS Laxman and Hrishikesh Kanitkar will serve as head coach of the Indian men's and women's cricket teams, respectively, at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, the People’s Republic of China.
Laxman, who heads the Bengaluru-based National Cricket Academy (NCA), will coach the 15-member men’s team captained by Ruturaj Gaikwad. The 48-year-old VVS Laxman had earlier coached the senior Indian men’s cricket team during the tour of Ireland last month in the absence of full-time head coach Rahul Dravid.
VVS Laxman scored 8,781 runs in 134 Tests for India during his playing career. In ODI’s, the former batsman from Hyderabad notched up 2338 runs in 86 matches.
Former India leg-spinner Sairaj Bahutule will be the bowling coach of the Indian men’s cricket team at Hangzhou.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named a second-string Indian cricket team at the Hangzhou Games as the senior side will be playing in the ICC Men's ODI Cricket World Cup 2023, scheduled to take place in India from October 5 to November 19.
Cricket matches at the 19th Asian Games will take place from September 19 to October 7 at the Pingfeng Campus Cricket Field, Hangzhou.
Meanwhile, Hrishikesh Kanitkar will take up the head coach’s role for the 15-member women’s squad led by captain Smriti Mandhana.
The 48-year-old Kanitkar guided the Indian women’s cricket team to the semi-finals of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in February this year.
A former India international, Hrishikesh Kanitkar scored 339 runs and scalped 17 wickets in 34 ODI appearances. The former left-handed batsman from Pune played only two Tests for India, racking up 74 runs.
The Indian men’s cricket team will kick off its Asian Games campaign in the quarter-final stage on October 3, while the semi-finals and gold medal match are scheduled on October 6 and 7, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Indian women’s team starts from the quarter-finals starting on September 21. The semi-finals and the gold medal match will be played on September 24 and 25, respectively.
The Indian cricket teams will be making their debut at the Asian Games. Cricket was first introduced at the 2010 Guangzhou Games and was retained as a medal sport for the 2014 Incheon Games. India had skipped both the editions. The sport was dropped for the 2018 Jakarta Games, but will make a return at Hangzhou.
Indian men’s cricket team coaching staff
- VVS Laxman - Head coach
- Sairaj Bahutule - Bowling coach
- Munish Bali - Fielding coach
Indian women’s cricket team coaching staff
- Hrishikesh Kanitkar - Head coach
- Rajib Dutta - Bowling coach
- Subhadeep Ghosh - Fielding coach