India will now begin its title defence in Japan later this month. Because of their superior international ranking, india’s men’s team won gold at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou after their title clash against Afghanistan was washed out, with India awarded the gold medal. The Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, are set to feature full-strength Indian men’s and women’s cricket teams as both sides look to defend their gold medals. The women’s team secured gold after defeating Sri Lanka by 19 runs in the final.
The women’s squad has undergone one change since the original announcement. Shreyanka Patil remains subject to fitness clearance. Jemimah Rodrigues has been ruled out after suffering a high-grade right hamstring tear during The Hundred on August 3, with Pratika Rawal coming into the squad. The women’s cricket tournament will run from September 17 to September 22, while the men’s competition will take place from September 24 to October 3 at Korogi Athletic Park in Aichi Prefecture. The semifinals are scheduled for September 20, with the bronze medal match and final taking place on September 22.
India Men, meanwhile, enter directly at the quarterfinal stage as one of the seeded teams. Group A consists of Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal, while Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Oman form Group B. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are the four seeded teams. India Men’s Cricket Squad BCCI named Shreyas Iyer as captain and Tilak Varma as vice captain for the Asian Games. The squad includes Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
Their first match is scheduled for September 28 at 10:00 AM IST, against the second placed team from Group A. The men’s semifinals will be played on October 1, followed by the bronze medal match and final on October 3.
