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The schedule for cricket at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, has been announced. India will enter the tournament as the defending champions in both the men's and women's events. Cricket will be played at the Asian Games for the fourth time, after being part of the 2010, 2014 and 2023 editions.
Both tournaments will be played in the T20 format, and every match will have full international status. The women's competition will run from September 17 to September 22, while the men's tournament will be held from September 24 to October 1. All matches will take place at Korogi Athletic Park in Aichi Prefecture.
In the men's event, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have received direct entry into the quarter-finals because they are the top-seeded teams. The other four quarter-final places will be decided through a preliminary round.
Six teams will play in the preliminary stage, divided into two groups. Group A includes Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal, while Group B features Hong Kong China, Malaysia and Oman. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals.
| Group A | Afghanistan, Japan, Nepal |
|---|---|
| Group B | Hong Kong China, Malaysia, Oman |
| Quarterfinals | India vs TBD |
| Pakistan vs TBD | |
| Sri Lanka vs TBD | |
| Bangladesh vs TBD |
Because both India and Pakistan have been placed directly in the quarter-finals, they can meet only once during the tournament. If both teams keep winning, that match will happen either in the semi-finals or the final.
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| Women’s Cricket at Asian Games 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Quarterfinals | |
| India | Japan |
| Bangladesh | China |
| Sri Lanka | Malaysia |
| Pakistan | Thailand |
| Semifinals | |
| India/Japan | Bangladesh/China |
| Sri Lanka/Malaysia | Pakistan/Thailand |
In the women's competition, India have also been given a direct place in the quarter-finals. They will begin their title defence against host nation Japan.
If India beat Japan, they will face either Bangladesh or China in the semi-finals. The other quarter-final matches will see Sri Lanka play Malaysia, while Pakistan will take on Thailand.
India's Women's Asia Cup Squads
Men’s asian games squad: Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
Women’s asian games squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (Vice-Captain), 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.