India may rope in a second-string team for the upcoming Asian Games cricket tournament in Japan as concerns in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) about the conditions and arrangements for the players have been raised.

As per an ANI report, a BCCI source said that the board is not satisfied and an observer will be sent to check the grounds ahead of the final decision.

The Asian Games will be held in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19. The men's cricket tournament will be held from September 24 to October 3, whereas the women's will be from September 17 to September 22. India has named strong teams for the competitions, but changes to the men's squad are possible after the report by the BCCI observer.

BCCI Concerned Over Dressing Rooms, Hotel Rooms

A BCCI source told ANI that both the board and the ACC have raised issues regarding the arrangements with the Japanese Olympic officials during an ACC meeting. The source said that the dressing rooms were reported to be set up in tents and the washroom facilities were located around 500 meters away.

The accommodation is also a big concern, as the BCCI source claimed that the hotel rooms that are allocated for the players are particularly small.

“We told Japan Olympics officials during the ACC meeting that the dressing rooms were set up in tents and washrooms were just 500 m away from those tents, which has caused an unsatisfactory situation for the players. Also, the hotel rooms are small and it is a big concern,” the source said.

The observer will inspect the facilities and present the report to the BCCI. If the board concludes that the arrangements are not suitable for the players, India could have the option to choose a 'B' team rather than the full-strength squad initially selected.

India Had Named Strong Men's Squad

India won the men's cricket gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou. The final against Afghanistan was washed out, and India were awarded the gold medal on the basis of their higher seeding.

The BCCI had initially picked a formidable squad for the 2026 edition, with Shreyas Iyer named captain and Tilak Varma appointed vice-captain. The squad also includes senior stars such as Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, along with emerging talents Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

The presence of several established T20I players had raised expectations that India would again be among the favorites for the gold medal.

India men's T20I squad for Asian Games

Shreyas Iyer (capt), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vice-capt), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Jasprit Bumrah.

Strong Women's Squad Chosen Too

India women's team also picked for Asian Games; Harmanpreet Kaur to lead the team, which is includes many senior internationals.

Smriti Mandhana has been named vice-captain, while Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh and Renuka Thakur are some of the other players selected.

Indian women's T20I squad for Asian Games

Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (WK), G. Kamalini (WK), Bharti Fulmali, Sree Charani, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, Nandni Sharma.