Asian Games 2026: Team India Ready for Men’s Cricket Campaign in Japan

Cricket has been part of the Asian Games since 2010, although India did not participate in the 2010 and 2014 editions. The sport was not included in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, before returning at Hangzhou in 2022. India made its Asian Games cricket debut in 2022 and won the men’s gold medal after the final was abandoned because of rain. Bangladesh won gold in 2010 and Sri Lanka in 2014, while Afghanistan reached the final in all three editions and claimed silver each time. The matches are played in the T20 format, with teams representing their respective Olympic associations.

For the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, India will be led by Shreyas Iyer and will enter the men’s competition at the quarterfinal stage. The opening match is scheduled for September 28. The updated squad includes Iyer, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Vipraj Nigam, Ravi Bishnoi and Yash Thakur. BCCI has also confirmed that Vipraj Nigam replaced Varun Chakaravarthy, while Yash Thakur replaced Harshit Rana in the final squad.