The Indian men’s cricket team entered the Asian Games semi-final without even taking the field after its quarter-final against Afghanistan was abandoned due to inclement weather in Nagoya on Monday.
The defending champion side made it to the last four as it is ranked No.1 in the ICC T20I rankings while Afghanistan is currently placed 10th.
India will take on winners of the quarter-final between Nepal and Sri Lanka to be held here on Tuesday. If that match is abandoned, then Sri Lanka, by virtue of their higher ranking, will take on India in the semi-final.
There has been consistent rain in Nagoya for the past few days and even a curtailed match was a remote possibility on the day.
“Hopefully, in the upcoming games, we will get the opportunity to play some good cricket and show our game to the people in Japan,” said India leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi after the game’s cancellation was announced.
The first quarterfinal between Pakistan and Hong Kong was also washed out, allowing the former to move ahead on the basis of their higher ICC ranking.
India are being led by Shreyas Iyer with VVS Laxman taking over the coaching responsibilities as regular head coach Gautam Gambhir is with the ODI team that is currently playing a home series against the West Indies.
The team features all major stars such as pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi among others.
Bishnoi said the players are looking forward to the opportunity of watching other sports while they are here.
“The Asian Games are definitely a different experience from the other series and World Cups. You get to see different sports and experience them as well,” Bishnoi said.
“Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to do that so far because we’re staying a little away…But we’ll try today, as we have tomorrow off, and explore some other sports as well,” he added.
(PTI)
