The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that India’s cricketers will stay in designated accommodation in Nagoya during the upcoming Asian Games, despite the facilities not meeting the five-star standard typically provided to the national teams on overseas tours.
The arrangement follows questions over accommodation in the Japanese host city, where the limited availability of top-rated hotels had created logistical challenges. India’s players will be given individual rooms rather than twin-sharing accommodation, while the BCCI has reviewed the facilities ahead of the teams’ arrival.
Speaking at the send-off ceremony for the Indian contingent, BCCI Vice-President Rajiv Shukla said: “Whatever they (organisers) are providing, we are staying there, and we are keeping a watch on what kind of accommodation is being given so that our players are comfortable. Definitely those are not five-star but good accommodation.”
BCCI reviews Nagoya accommodation
The Board assessed the proposed accommodation remotely before agreeing to the arrangement. Relocating the cricket teams to Tokyo or Osaka was considered an alternative, but the distance from Nagoya made remaining in the host city the preferred option.
Shukla added: “Whatever has been offered to our cricketers – that accommodation we have got the photographs all the way and the videos also of that, so I think it’s comfortable. They (cricketers) will be going and staying there because otherwise the options were to make them stay in Osaka or Tokyo, which are far away.”
Nagoya’s relatively limited supply of hotels has been central to the accommodation discussions. Both Tokyo and Osaka are around an hour and a half away by bullet train, creating additional travel considerations during the Games.
Shukla told PTI on Tuesday: “The problem was that Nagoya hasn’t got many hotels. Tokyo is one and a half hours by bullet train, and so is Osaka. But in the Asian Games, all the participants are like families; it doesn’t look nice that some teams stay in Tokyo and some in Osaka, so it has been decided that our players will live at a hotel accommodation there (at Nagoya).”
PT Usha addresses accommodation arrangements
The accommodation plans involve coordination between the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Asian Games Organising Committee and Japan Cricket Association. Organisers are providing different types of accommodation for participants, including villas and a ship, while hotel arrangements have also been made.
Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha told PTI: “We also booked the hotel rooms for the players (other athletes). And the cricketers, BCCI, also have booked the hotel for them. Whatever the best hotel is there in Nagoya or Japan, whatever it is, the best one, the cricketers will get it, just like others (other athletes) get.”
Shukla has not provided details of the specific hotels involved but has maintained that the accommodation available to the Indian teams will be comfortable.
Cricket facilities were bigger BCCI concern
While accommodation attracted attention ahead of the Games, the BCCI’s more significant concerns centred on the facilities where the cricket competition will be staged. The condition of the playing surface, wickets and dressing rooms had all been under scrutiny during preparations.
Shukla speaking to PTI: “The big issue was the ground, wicket and dressing rooms. They (organisers) have addressed those things. The Asian Cricket Council’s team had gone there, and now they (ACC team) are satisfied with the ground, the wickets and dressing rooms; everything is fine.”
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) had sent representatives to inspect the facilities, while preparations in Japan were also presented to delegates during an ACC meeting in Bangkok involving representatives from 52 countries.
Shukla noted: “At the ACC meeting in Bangkok, which I had also participated in, 52 representatives from various countries were there. We had a full presentation by a Japanese representative, and he has assured us that all the arrangements will be made keeping in mind the comfort of the players. They have provided the hotels. If there are gaps or loopholes, we will address them.”
India sending full-strength Asian Games teams
India will enter the Asian Games as defending champions in both the men’s and women’s cricket competitions after winning both gold medals at Hangzhou in 2023. The BCCI has named full-strength squads, with Shreyas Iyer leading the men’s team and Harmanpreet Kaur captaining the women’s side.
India’s cricket contingent is scheduled to travel to Tokyo on September 20 before playing Japan in a T20 match on September 22. The Asian Games campaign begins on September 28.
With the accommodation plan settled and the ACC satisfied following its assessment of the cricket facilities, the BCCI’s focus now shifts towards India’s participation in the Games and the teams’ preparations for defending their two titles.
