Hangzhou, China
Indian Men's Cricket Team is ready for its historic debut at the Asian Games 2023, with opener Ruturaj Gaikwad set to lead the second-string side in Hangzhou, China. Ahead of a potential gold medal campaign, Ruturaj opened up on picking MS Dhoni's brains while playing for Chennai Super Kings in IPL but admitted having his ways of leading the Men in Blue in this competition.
Having shared the dressing room with MS Dhoni for a few years, Ruturaj knows a bit about Dhoni's captaincy style and how he manages to keep his cool in crunch situations.
When asked if he's going to go the Dhoni way in leading his team at the Asian Games, Ruturaj said, "I got to learn a lot of things from him (Dhoni), but every person has a different style."
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Gaikwad added, "His style is different, his personality is different, and my personality is a bit different. I will try to be myself and not really look at what he usually does."
On being unique in his way of captaining India, Ruturaj said, "Obviously, yes, you have to pick out some things which he does really well, how he handles situations and how he handles particular players during a match."
"Obviously, these are (a) few things I really took from him, but I would like to lead the way I want to," the Indian skipper for the Asian Games said.
Great chance for the entire team
With the women's cricket team winning their maiden gold medal at the Asian Games earlier, it's time for the men's team to repeat the heroics. The coach for this assignment, VVS Laxman, also expressed his excitement over Indian players getting an opportunity to play in China and go for the top prize.
"It is a much different setup. We (would) have not even thought that we would come and play cricket in China. It is a great opportunity for the entire team. Participating in the Asian Games is a big opportunity and a matter of great pride for all these players," VVS Laxman told media in Hangzhou.
Speaking on the same lines, Ruturaj said, "Coming to the Asian Games, everyone is eager to win the gold for the country and stand up on the podium."
Here is India's men's squad for the Asian Games 2023 -
Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Dube, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Akash Deep
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