The official draw for the cricket competition at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 was held on Thursday. India’s women’s team will begin its campaign in the quarter-finals against Japan. The match will be an important knockout fixture as both teams fight for a place in the semi-finals.
India enter the tournament as the defending champions. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side won the gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023. Smriti Mandhana will serve as the vice-captain for the upcoming event.
The women’s cricket competition will be played from September 17 to 22. All matches will be played in the T20 format and will have full international status. Korogi Athletic Park in Aichi Prefecture will host every match.
India Could Meet Bangladesh or China in Semi-finals
If India defeat Japan in the quarter-finals, they will face either Bangladesh or China in the semi-finals. The remaining quarter-final matches will also feature Sri Lanka against Malaysia and Pakistan against Thailand.
The last four quarter-final spots will be decided through the qualifying round. Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal have been placed in Group A. Hong Kong China, Malaysia and Oman are in Group B. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the knockout stage and face the seeded teams.
India’s men’s team will also start directly from the quarter-finals. Their opponent is yet to be confirmed. The men’s cricket competition will take place from September 24 to October 1. Like the women’s event, all matches will be played in the T20 format with full international status.
Shreyas Iyer will captain the Indian men’s team, while Tilak Varma has been named vice-captain. Young batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is also part of the 15-member squad.
Cricket will feature at the Asian Games for the fourth time after Guangzhou 2010, Incheon 2014 and Hangzhou 2023. India won both the men’s and women’s gold medals in Hangzhou. The sport is also set to return to the Olympic Games at Los Angeles 2028 after a long absence.
