WATCH: Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad Says Aim Is To Win The Gold Medal At Asian Games

Ruturaj Gaikwad has set his eyes on the Asian Games Gold medal after being named the captain of the men's Indian team that will take part in the event.

Ruturaj Gaikwad was named the skipper of the 15-member contingent that will travel to China for the quadrinnial event which was orginally set to be played in 2022 but was postponed to 2023. ( Image Source :Screengrab From Video On Twitter/@BCCI )

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India's squad for the Asian Games on Friday. While the senior men's squad will be busy in preparation for the ODI World Cup around the same time at home, the Indian cricket board named a second-string squad for the men's cricket competition in the Asian Games which will be played in the T20 format. Ruturaj Gaikwad was named the skipper of the 15-member contingent that will travel to China for the quadrinnial event which was orginally set to be played in 2022 but was postponed to 2023.

And now less than 24 hours after the squad announcement was made, the captain of the Indian men's cricket team that will compete in Asian Games has said that the aim is to win the gold medal at the Asian Games.

"Really thankful for the opportunity by the BCCI and the management and the selectors. Playing for India itself is a proud feeling and leading the side in such a big event would be a great opportunity for me and also for all the other team members," Gaikwad said in a video shared by the BCCI on their official social media handle.

"We all are youngsters and we have been gelling around well with each other since last 1 year or last 2 years. Playing IPL against each other, playing India A games, then some India games as well. I think's it's a fun group to be a part of. I think it would be really exciting for everyone who are part of the squad to represent the country in Asian Games and obviosuly to win the medal for the country is something that we always grew up watching on television and seeing athletes win it for our country," he added.

🗣️ “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒂𝒍, 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚”

A happy and proud @Ruutu1331 is excited to lead #TeamIndia at the #AsianGames 😃 pic.twitter.com/iPZfVU2XW8

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 15, 2023

"The dream would be to win the gold medal, stand on the podium and sing the national anthem for the country," he concluded.