Digital Desk, Busted. Indian cricket fans may soon see such a sight when two different teams of Team India will be seen playing international matches in two countries on the same day. Such a schedule is being made in late September and early October, due to the Asian Games 2026 and the ODI series against West Indies.
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The command of the Indian men's cricket team in the Asian Games has been handed over to Shreyas Iyer. In such a situation, apart from Shreyas, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishan Kishan, Akshar Patel and many other players will not be available in the three-match ODI series against West Indies starting from September 27.
Actually, India's quarter-final match in the Asian Games is to be held on September 28. If the team progresses from here, it will play the semi-finals on October 1. After this, there will be a competition for medals on 3rd October. On reaching the final, the gold medal match will be held on the same day, while the losing team in the semi-finals will play for the bronze medal.
A special coincidence can happen on 3rd October
The most interesting situation may arise on October 3. On that day, the Indian team will compete for a medal in the Asian Games, while the third match of the ODI series between India and West Indies is also scheduled on the same date. That means two Indian teams can play international cricket in different countries on the same day.
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However, such a coincidence has been seen before in Indian cricket. In the year 1998, one Indian team was busy in the Commonwealth Games, while the other team was playing against Pakistan in the Sahara Cup.
Trust on big names for Asian Games
India has selected a strong team for the Asian Games. Shreyas Iyer will be the captain, while Tilak Verma has got the responsibility of vice-captain. The team also includes Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dubey, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakraborty, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
Many players of this team have been part of the ODI setup. In such a situation, his absence during the Asian Games may affect the selection of the ODI team against West Indies. The selectors can try some new faces on this occasion and also try to clear the picture of possible players for the 2027 ODI World Cup.