‘Cricket Contingent Is Fully Prepared’: BCCI VP Shukla Confident Of Team India Completing Asiad Double

By Pramit Meher

**BCCI VP Shukla: India's Cricket Contingent Ready to Repeat Asiad Gold** BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla didn't mince words at the Asian Games sendoff ceremony in Delhi tdy—he's backing both the men's and women's teams to defend their gold medals at the AichiNagoya Games. *"We are fully prepared. The cricket contingent is going there fully prepared. There will be a good show. We will win for sure and get the gold, both men and women. There is no doubt about it,"* Shukla told IANS. **The Context** India carry defending champion status in both events after gold in the men's and women's tournaments at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. Now they aim to lock out the discipline once more. **Key Dates** Women enter directly in the QF stage on Sep 18, semis on Sep 20, medal matches Sep 22. The men start their QF campaign on Sep 28, with semis on Oct 1 and the final on Oct 3. **Coaching Setups Finalised** VVS Laxman (Head, Centre of Excellence) takes charge of the men's side, with Gautam Gambhir stepping back for the whiteball series vs WI (from Sep 27). Laxman's support staff: Sunil Joshi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Subhadeep Ghosh. Amol Muzumdar heads the women's camp. From a sports medicine standpoint, the tight tournament window—knockout cricket with minimal margin between matches—means workload and recovery management will be critical, especially for the fast bowlers carrying their overs through back-to-back semis and finals. *Source: IANS* Source: Cricketnmore