Never expected to play in China: VVS Laxman

VVS Laxman

For a change, the trend-setting Indian men's cricketing team will be looking to ape their female counterparts. A few days ago, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led women's team beat Sri Lanka to win the gold medal. Now, it's the turn of the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led men's side to strike gold.

On the eve of their quarter-final against Nepal at the Pingfeng Cricket Field here, India head coach and former batsman, VVS Laxman said that he was hoping for the same kind of support that the Indian eves received here. "The Asian Games organisers have made a huge effort in creating some decent infrastructure here and we are hoping that there will be support for us once we start playing our matches. When the women's team played here, they had a lot of support and they realised their potential and won gold. We are expecting the same when we start to play," said Laxman, 48, after a team training session.

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"I never thought we would come to China and play cricket, but it's a great opportunity for the entire team and participating in the Asian Games is a matter of great pride for the players," added Laxman referring to the India team's first-ever Asian Games appearance.

Meanwhile, skipper Gaikwad was happy to sign autographs for a few volunteers and members of the public, who assembled here to see their superstar cricketing heroes in the flesh. "I find it all really cute. I don't think these people know you personally or have tracked your career. They just know that you are someone big in your country and are coming up to take your autograph. This is something different and beautiful that we have experienced with the Chinese people here," Gaikwad said.

Laxman also batted in support of cricket being included in the Olympics sometime in the future. "The T20 format is an ideal format to be part of the Olympics and hopefully, in the near future, cricket will be a part of the Olympic programme," he said. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have received a direct entry to the quarter-finals and will play Nepal, Hong Kong China, Afghanistan and Malaysia respectively.