Men cricket at the 2026 Asian Games is a 10-team T20 event at the same Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Aichi, from 24 September to 3 October. The organising committee published groups and the knockout path on 26 August 2026. Six sides play a three-team group stage. Four seeds (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka) sit out the groups and enter at the quarter-finals on 28 and 29 September. Afternoon knockouts start at 13:30 JST, not 14:00. That is 10:00 AM IST.
Read the squads before you price medals. Several boards have not sent their World Cup first XI. Pakistan named Sahibzada Farhan captain and left out Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan and Salman Ali Agha (Dawn, PCB squad announcement). Afghanistan's board published a 15 under Darwish Rasooli drawn largely from the 2026 Shpageeza League, not the Rashid Khan T20 core. Sri Lanka are led by Sahan Arachchige, with ThePapare describing a mix of seniors and uncapped names rather than the full white-ball side. India are the exception: Shreyas Iyer captains a BCCI T20 group that still includes Jasprit Bumrah, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma and Arshdeep Singh.
Venue and why the women week matters for the men
One ground, every match. Korogi Sports Park, Nisshin. Women cricket is using it 17 to 22 September. Men cricket starts 24 September. The first two women quarter-finals were wrecked by a wet outfield: one washout without a toss, one 11-over game. That is the live pitch-and-weather report for this venue, not a brochure. Group games are 9:00 and 14:00 JST (5:30 AM and 10:30 AM IST). From the quarter-finals onward the second match of the day is 13:30 JST (10:00 AM IST).
Fixtures: ESPNcricinfo series 1552449, Asian Games Men's Cricket Competition 2026.
Groups and seeds
Full men schedule
India therefore do not play until Monday 28 September. Their quarter-final opponent is whoever finishes second in Group A (Afghanistan, Japan or Nepal). If India win that, the official semi-final pairing (CKT20) is the winner of India's QF against the winner of Sri Lanka vs Group A winner. A first-place Group A side would meet Sri Lanka on 29 September, then potentially India on 1 October.
India squad: what BCCI actually named
On 16 September 2026 BCCI updated the Japan T20I and Asian Games party in the same note as the West Indies ODI squad. Varun Chakaravarthy is out with a side strain from the first Afghanistan T20I in Delhi. Vipraj Nigam replaces him. Nitish Kumar Reddy, originally in the Games squad, was withdrawn to play the West Indies ODIs.
Updated BCCI 14: Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vc), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur, Vipraj Nigam.
That is still a serious T20 group: Iyer as captain, Tilak as vice-captain, Bumrah and Arshdeep with the new ball, Abhishek and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi at the top. Hardik Pandya is not in this 14. Suryakumar Yadav is not in this 14 either. Iyer took over as T20I captain earlier in 2026 after the home World Cup. A June viral post claiming Yadav had retired came from a fake X account; neither BCCI nor Yadav has announced a retirement, and he has said he is still playing and wants a recall. Bumrah on this list is the gap between India's seeding and the other seeds' second strings.
Team guides: the sides that can reach a medal
Afghanistan (Group A)
Hangzhou silver: Afghanistan finished second at Guangzhou 2010, Incheon 2014 and Hangzhou 2023. The 2023 final was abandoned with Afghanistan 112 for 5 in 18.2 overs; India took gold as the higher seed. For 2026 the Afghanistan Cricket Board, 17 August, named: Darwish Rasooli (c), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Mohammad Akram, Hassan Eisakhil, Khalid Taniwal, Imran Mir, Faisal Khan Shinozada, Najibullah Zadran, Farmanullah Safi, Ismat Alam, Karim Janat, Nangyal Kharoti, Arab Gul Momand, Faridoon Dawoodzai, Abdullah Ahmadzai. Najibullah and Karim Janat are the recognised names. They must beat Japan and/or Nepal just to reach a quarter-final. Do not paste 2023 Afghanistan onto this 15.
Pakistan (seed)
Sahibzada Farhan captain, Abdul Samad vice-captain. Dawn listed: Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufyan Moqim, Usman Khan (wk). Four of those (Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat, Saad Masood) were yet to debut in T20Is at announcement. Pakistan open against the Group B runner-up on 28 September at 9:00 JST. This is a medal squad only if Saim Ayub and the young pace attack carry a second-string batting order. It is not the team that contest T20 World Cups.
Bangladesh (seed)
Sportstar, 3 September, published the BCB 15 captained by Litton Das: Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Mohammed Saif Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Tawhid Hridoy, Musaddek Hossain Saikat, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Rishad Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mohammed Saifuddin, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud. Hangzhou bronze (beat Pakistan in the bronze match). They play the Group B winner on 29 September. On names, this is closer to a senior T20 side than Pakistan's published Games 15.
Sri Lanka (seed)
Sahan Arachchige captains. ThePapare 12 September: Lasith Croospulle, Niroshan Dickwella, Sineth Jayawardena, Nuwanidu Fernando, Ashen Bandara, Sohan de Livera, Chamika Karunaratne, Tharindu Rathnayake, Wanuja Sahan, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Dushan Hemantha, Nuwan Thushara, Binura Fernando, Pramod Madushan. Incheon 2014 gold. Hangzhou: lost the semi-final to Afghanistan. CounterPoint noted Sineth Jayawardena, Wanuja Sahan and Sohan de Livera as uncapped. They play Group A's winner on 29 September.
Nepal and Japan (Group A), Hong Kong, Malaysia, Oman (Group B)
Nepal, announced by CAN and reported by Outlook: Dipendra Singh Airee (c), Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Rohit Paudel, Aarif Sheikh, Kushal Malla, Sundeep Jora, Lokesh Bam, Sandeep Lamichhane, Gulshan Jha, Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Nandan Yadav, Lalit Rajbanshi, Sher Malla. That is a competitive Associate T20 side, and they play Afghanistan on 25 September. Japan are captained by Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming. The Japan Cricket Association 15 (also used for the one-off T20I against India) includes Charlie Hara-Hinze, Benjamin Ito-Davis, Alester Kadowaki-Fleming, Kohei Kubota, Jake Kusuda-Nairn, Wataru Miyauchi, Reo Sakurano-Thomas, Alex Shirai-Patmore, Shoma Sugaya-Slater, Declan Suzuki-McComb, Tsuyoshi Takada, Ibrahim Takahashi, Makoto Taniyama, Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake. Hosts, Group A, must take points off Afghanistan or Nepal to reach the last eight. Group B is Hong Kong China, Malaysia and Oman. Two of those three will get a quarter-final; one of them will draw Pakistan on 28 September.
Hangzhou context, not a copy-paste ranking
Olympics.com's winners list: men gold Bangladesh (2010), Sri Lanka (2014), India (2023). Silver at Hangzhou: Afghanistan. Bronze: Bangladesh. India's 2023 gold was awarded after rain ended the final. That history explains why boards still care about this event. It does not tell you who wins in Nisshin when three of the four seeds have sent reduced squads and Afghanistan have to survive a group.
Who can win a medal in 2026?
Favourites, on the squads that were actually published: India, then Bangladesh, then whoever emerges from Group A if that side is Afghanistan or Nepal. Pakistan and Sri Lanka can still win knockouts. They should not be treated as 2023-vintage first XIs. Japan have a home crowd and a genuine T20 captain in Kadowaki-Fleming; a Group A second place and a QF against India on 28 September is the ceiling unless India have an off day on a wet outfield.
- Gold, on paper: India, because Bumrah, Abhishek, Arshdeep and Iyer are here and the other seeds are not at full strength.
- Next: Bangladesh's published 15 is the other senior-looking seed.
- Upset lane: Nepal or Afghanistan winning Group A, then Sri Lanka's QF, with rain in the mix.
- Do not price Pakistan gold from a Farhan-led 15 that omitted Babar and Shaheen. Price them as a dangerous QF side.
Use the search, then play while you wait
The men event does not start until 24 September. If Google or Bing sent you here for "Asian Games 2026 cricket schedule" or "India Asian Games cricket squad", the table above is the fixture list. The wait is six days. CricketDream's daily games are built for exactly that gap: Cricket Grid (3x3), CricketQuest (mystery player), Quiz (multiplayer). Fantasy XI, Draft and Predictor light up once the Nisshin group games are on our fixture list.
Frequently asked questions
Search demand on this event is "when does India play", "live streaming", "Iyer squad", "is Bumrah playing", and "is Suryakumar in the squad". Official times below beat a few Indian round-ups that still list the India quarter-final at 2:00 PM JST. The organising committee has it at 13:30 JST (10:00 AM IST).
When does India men play, and who is the opponent?
Monday 28 September 2026, 13:30 JST (10:00 AM IST), quarter-final against whoever finishes second in Group A: Afghanistan, Japan or Nepal. India do not play a group match. Group A runs 24 to 26 September.
Where to watch Asian Games cricket live in India?
Sony Sports Network on TV and Sony LIV for streaming, the same rights Sportstar listed for the women quarter-final. Confirm the daily EPG. We are not the broadcaster.
Is Jasprit Bumrah in the Asian Games squad?
Yes. He is on the BCCI 16 September list for the Japan T20I and the Games.
Is Shreyas Iyer captaining? Is Tilak vice-captain?
Yes and yes. The live 14 after Varun Chakaravarthy's side strain and Nitish Kumar Reddy's withdrawal for the West Indies ODIs is on BCCI's site.
Is Suryakumar Yadav in the squad, and has he retired?
He is not in this 14. Iyer replaced him as T20I captain earlier in 2026 after the home World Cup. A viral June post claiming he had retired was from a fake X account (@unreal_skyy), not @surya_14kumar. Fact-checks from Mint, Free Press Journal and ABP found no BCCI or player announcement. Yadav has said he is still playing and wants a recall. Do not treat a fake tweet as a retirement.
Is Hardik Pandya in the Asian Games squad?
No. He is not on the BCCI Japan T20I / Asian Games 14.
Why are there only 14 names, not 15?
The original party was 15. Nitish Kumar Reddy was withdrawn for the West Indies ODIs and was not replaced in the 16 September BCCI note. Varun Chakaravarthy (side strain) was replaced by Vipraj Nigam. The published update is 14 names.
Is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the squad?
Yes. He is on the BCCI 14, spelled Sooryavanshi in the board note (searchers also type Suryavanshi).
Why does India not play a group game?
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are seeded straight into the quarter-finals. Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal play Group A. Hong Kong China, Malaysia and Oman play Group B. Top two in each group join the seeds on 28 and 29 September.
When is the men gold medal match?
Saturday 3 October 2026, 13:30 JST (10:00 AM IST) at Korogi Sports Park. Bronze is 9:00 JST (5:30 AM IST) the same day. Afternoon knockouts from the QFs onward are 13:30 JST, not 14:00.
Did India win men gold in 2023, and was it a washout?
Yes. ESPNcricinfo Hangzhou final: Afghanistan 112 for 5 in 18.2 overs, rain, India awarded gold as the higher seed. Afghanistan took silver. Bangladesh beat Pakistan for bronze.
How many teams, and is it T20?
Ten teams, T20. Same Korogi Sports Park as the women event. Men cricket starts 24 September, five days after the 19 September opening ceremony, because the women knockout uses the ground first.
JST to IST?
Minus 3 hours 30 minutes. 9:00 JST is 5:30 AM IST. 13:30 JST is 10:00 AM IST. 14:00 JST is 10:30 AM IST.
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