India at Asian Games 2026 — Cricket
India’s cricket squads, official schedule, medal prospects and full tournament preview for the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
📍 Aichi, Japan
🥇 2023 Gold — Men’s
🥈 2023 Silver — Women’s
Men’s Squad — Asian Games 2026
Captain: Shreyas Iyer | Vice-Captain: Tilak Varma | Format: T20I | Venue: Kōrogi Sports Park, Nisshin, Aichi
| # | Player | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shreyas Iyer (C) | Batter | Right-hand mid-order, experienced T20 captain |
| 2 | Tilak Varma (VC) | Batter | Left-hand middle order anchor, composed under pressure |
| 3 | Shubman Gill | Batter / Opener | Elegant top-order bat, high T20 strike rate |
| 4 | Abhishek Sharma | Batter / Opener | Aggressive left-hand opener, explosive powerplay hitter |
| 5 | Ishan Kishan (WK) | WK-Batter | Left-hand opener/finisher, IPL powerplay specialist |
| 6 | Rinku Singh | Batter | Power-finisher, exceptional in chase situations |
| 7 | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | Batter / Opener | Teenage prodigy, IPL’s fastest to 1,000 runs |
| 8 | Axar Patel | All-Rounder | Left-arm spin + reliable lower-order bat |
| 9 | Washington Sundar | All-Rounder | Off-spin + batting depth at No. 7/8 |
| 10 | Ravi Bishnoi | Bowler | Leg-spin with lethal googly, excellent vs Asian lineups |
| 11 | Kuldeep Yadav | Bowler | Left-arm wrist-spin, ICC top-ranked T20 spinner |
| 12 | Arshdeep Singh | Bowler | Left-arm pacer, death-over specialist |
| 13 | Jasprit Bumrah | Bowler | World No. 1 T20 bowler, lethal yorker machine |
| 14 | Mukesh Kumar | Bowler | Right-arm pace, swing and early-over control |
| 15 | Harshit Rana | Bowler | Right-arm fast, bounce and late movement |
India Men’s Match Schedule & Path to Gold
🏏 India are seeded — direct bye to Quarter-Finals
As the No. 1 ranked Asian T20I side and defending gold medalists, India skip the preliminary group stage and enter directly at the Quarter-Final stage. India’s QF opponents will be the runner-up from Group B (Hong Kong, Malaysia, Oman).
| Date (JST) | Stage | Opponent | Time (JST) | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 28, 2026 | QF Quarter-Final | Group B Runner-Up | 09:00 | 05:30 |
| Oct 1, 2026 | SF Semi-Final | QF winner | TBD | TBD |
| Oct 3, 2026 | 🥇 Gold Final | SF winner | 14:00 | 10:30 |
All matches at Kōrogi Sports Park, Nisshin, Aichi.
Men’s Tournament Format & Group Draw
10-Team Format — Seeded Bye System
The four highest-ranked Asian T20I nations receive direct byes to the Quarter-Finals. The remaining six teams compete in two preliminary groups of three.
🌱 Group A
Prelim
🇦🇫 Afghanistan
🇳🇵 Nepal
🇯🇵 Japan
Top 2 advance to QF
🌱 Group B
Prelim
🇭🇰 Hong Kong
🇲🇾 Malaysia
🇴🇲 Oman
Top 2 advance to QF
🏆 Seeded (Bye to QF)
Direct QF
🇮🇳 India
🇵🇰 Pakistan
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
🇧🇩 Bangladesh
Skip group stage
| Stage | Format | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary Rounds | 2 groups of 3 (round-robin) | Sep 24–26 |
| Quarter-Finals | 8 teams (4 seeded + 4 prelim qualifiers) | Sep 28–29 |
| Semi-Finals | 4 teams | Oct 1 |
| Bronze & Gold Finals | SF losers / SF winners | Oct 3 |
Women’s Squad — Key Players
India Women enter as silver medalists from 2023 Hangzhou. Women’s cricket runs September 17–22, 2026 — one week before the men’s tournament. Captain: Harmanpreet Kaur
🏏 Smriti Mandhana
World-class left-hand opener; India’s batting anchor and ICC Women’s T20I top-10 regular
🏏 Deepti Sharma
Versatile all-rounder: off-spin + reliable bat; one of the world’s top women’s T20 all-rounders
🏏 Richa Ghosh (WK)
India’s best T20 finisher behind the stumps; powerful lower-order explosive hitter
🏏 Shafali Verma
Explosive opener; highest ICC Women’s T20I ranking; one of the quickest run-scorers in Asia
🏏 Renuka Singh Thakur
Right-arm pacer, India’s top wicket-taker; outstanding new-ball and death-over options
🏏 Harmanpreet Kaur (C)
India Women’s captain; formidable middle-order and experienced T20I tactician
India Women’s Match Schedule
🏏 Women’s Format: 8-Team Straight Knockout from QF
No group stage — all 8 teams go straight to Quarter-Finals. India Women face Japan Women in their QF on September 18.
| Date | Stage | Opponent | Time (JST) | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 18, 2026 | QF Quarter-Final | 🇯🇵 Japan Women | 14:00 | 10:30 |
| Sep 20, 2026 | SF Semi-Final | QF winner | TBD | TBD |
| Sep 22, 2026 | 🥇 Gold Final | SF winner | TBD | TBD |
India’s Cricket History at Asian Games
| Year | Host | Men’s | Women’s |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Guangzhou, China | 🥇 Gold | Not held |
| 2023 | Hangzhou, China | 🥇 Gold | 🥈 Silver |
| 2026 | Aichi-Nagoya, Japan | TBD | TBD |
Medal Chances
India’s men are overwhelming favourites to retain gold. With Jasprit Bumrah leading the attack and Shreyas Iyer providing experienced captaincy, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the strongest challengers. India Women face stronger competition from Sri Lanka (defending gold) and Pakistan — but Mandhana and Harmanpreet’s experience makes India serious contenders for gold this time.
📺 Where to Watch India Cricket Live — Asian Games 2026
Official Broadcast in India: Sony Sports Network
- Sony Ten 1 HD / Sony Ten 1 — Primary channel for cricket at ASIAD 2026; all matches including group stage and finals
- Sony LIV (App & Web) — Full live stream on Android, iOS, Smart TV, and web; available with subscription
- Sony Ten 2, Ten 3, Ten 4 — Overflow channels during concurrent fixtures
Time Offset Reference
All matches in Japan Standard Time (JST = UTC+9). IST is 3.5 hours behind JST. A 14:00 JST match starts at 10:30 IST; a 09:00 JST match starts at 05:30 IST.