BCCI breaks silence on Asian Games concerns, Saikia promises ‘best facilities’ for India cricketers

NEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has moved to allay concerns over accommodation and logistical arrangements for the Indian cricket squads at the upcoming Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, with secretary Devajit Saikia insisting there is no immediate issue but promising that the board will step in if required.Questions had emerged over the facilities available for participating cricket teams ahead of the multi-sport event in Japan, particularly around accommodation and infrastructure. The Japan Cricket Association (JCA) has said teams have been offered hotel accommodation and are also free to make their own arrangements.Speaking after Thursday's review meeting at BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, Saikia said the board was confident about India's arrangements and would not hesitate to create its own system if the situation demanded it.“There is no such issue that we have discussed or which is on our agenda today or prior to today also. So we are not going to have any difficulties in Japan. If any kind of situation arises, we will take an appropriate call at the right time so that we ensure that our players and the support staff will get the best facilities in the Asian Games, whether it is from the organisers.“If required, BCCI will have its own system in place to provide the best facilities to our players,” Saikia told reporters.Japan accommodation concernsThe reassurance comes amid wider logistical questions surrounding the Aichi-Nagoya Games. Organisers confirmed last week that accommodation had been secured for all registered athletes and officials despite entries exceeding 17,000, with participants set to be housed across hotels, temporary accommodation and a cruise ship rather than a traditional athletes' village.For cricket, JCA chief executive officer Naoki Alex Miyaji had sought to ease concerns by saying participating teams were being offered hotel accommodation.India will enter the Asian Games as defending champions in both men's and women's T20 cricket. The men's side will be led by Shreyas Iyer, while Harmanpreet Kaur will captain the women's side.Laxman to lead men's sideVVS Laxman, director of cricket at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence, will take charge of the men's side in Japan. He will be assisted by Sunil Joshi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Subhadeep Ghosh.Laxman was also in charge when India won the men's gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.Regular head coach Gautam Gambhir will remain with the senior side for the home ODI series against the West Indies, beginning September 27.The women's side will be coached by Amol Muzumdar, with Aavishkar Salvi and Munish Bali assisting him.India's men's campaign will begin on September 24, while the women's side will enter at the quarterfinal stage, where it is scheduled to face Japan.With both squads packed with established international names and promising youngsters, the BCCI's priority will now be to ensure that logistical concerns do not affect India's bid to retain both Asian Games cricket titles.Indian Squads at Asian Games 2026:Indian men's team: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.Indian women's team: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Gunalan Kamalini, Bharti Fulmali, Sree Charani, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, Nandani Sharma.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.