India’s women will start their Asian Games 2026 campaign in the quarter-finals, where they have been drawn against Japan. Harmanpreet Kaur captains the side, with Smriti Mandhana as her deputy. A victory would send India into the semi-finals, where Bangladesh or China await.
Format and fixtures
The women’s tournament runs from September 17 to 22 at Korogi Athletic Park in Aichi Prefecture. Every game will be a T20 International with full international status.
Other quarter-finals already set are Sri Lanka against Malaysia and Pakistan against Thailand. The remaining knockout places will be settled through a qualifying stage.
Six teams contest that stage in two groups. Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal make up Group A, while Hong Kong China, Malaysia and Oman form Group B. The top two from each group move on to join the seeded nations in the last eight.
India’s men also enter at the last-eight stage
India’s men will likewise begin in the quarter-finals, with their opponent not yet known. Their event is scheduled from September 24 to October 1, again in the T20I format. Shreyas Iyer will lead a 15-man squad in which Tilak Varma is vice-captain and teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is included.
Cricket’s place at the Games
This will be the fourth time cricket features at the Asian Games, after Guangzhou 2010, Incheon 2014 and Hangzhou 2023. India won both the men’s and women’s gold medals at the most recent edition and will hope to repeat that in Aichi-Nagoya. The event also acts as another step on the road to cricket’s return to the Olympic Games at Los Angeles 2028.
