Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], September 28 (ANI): Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President and Olympian PT Usha met the Indian men's cricket team and interacted with the players, expressing pride in their dedication, humility and passion ahead of their campaign at the 2026 Asian Games.
Usha shared pictures from her meeting with the team and described the interaction as "Very Very Special", saying that witnessing the players' dedication and passion reminded her of the importance of sports.
"It was Very Very Special, meeting the Men's Indian cricket team today! Had a wonderful interaction with everyone. Seeing their dedication, humility and passion firsthand, reminds me why sports hold such a sacred place in our hearts," Usha wrote on X.
It was Very Very Special, meeting the Men's Indian cricket team today! Had a wonderful interaction with everyone. Seeing their dedication, humility and passion firsthand, reminds me why sports hold such a sacred place in our hearts.#JeetHamariHai pic.twitter.com/7KhfM47r9R
— P.T. USHA (@PTUshaOfficial) September 28, 2026
She also extended her best wishes to the players for their campaign at the Asian Games, saying her heart was filled with pride and blessings for the team.
"My heart is filled with immense pride and endless blessings for each one of them and I wish all of them the very best for their campaign at the @AsianGames_2026," PT Usha added.
The Indian men's cricket team is set to represent the country at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, where cricket is among the sports on the competition programme.
India will face Afghanistan in the quarter-final on Monday, September 28, with the match scheduled to begin at 10:30 am IST.
The Indian squad features several established international players, with T20 captain Iyer leading the side. The team also includes Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur.
Former India cricketer VVS Laxman is the stand-in head coach of the team for the Asian Games campaign. India are entering the competition with the aim of retaining the gold medal they won in Hangzhou in 2023. On that occasion, India defeated Afghanistan for the gold after the final was washed out, with the higher-seeded Indian side awarded the title. The team was led by Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Earlier, India's women's cricket team completed a successful title defence at the Games, beating Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final under Harmanpreet Kaur to claim the country's first gold medal at the 2026 Games.
The men's team will now look to replicate that success, with a strong squad that includes a number of players with international experience. Iyer, who has led Kolkata Knight Riders to an IPL title and captained Punjab Kings to the IPL final in 2025, will be aiming to add an Asian Games gold medal to his captaincy record as India begin their knockout campaign against Afghanistan. (ANI)
