Asian Games 2026 cricket schedule: India, Pakistan on opposite sides of draw – complete draw revealed

India’s Richa Ghosh bats during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Group 1 cricket match between India and Pakistan in Birmingham, England. (Photo by AP/PTI) The schedule of cricket events at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan has been announced, with defending champions India gaining direct entry to the quarter-finals in both the men’s and women’s T20 tournaments. Cricket will be played in T20 format and will have full international status. The women’s competition will run from September 17 to 22, while the men’s tournament will take place from September 24 to October 1 at the Korogi Athletic Park in Aichi Prefecture.India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were all seeded in the men’s quarter-finals based on their placement. The remaining four quarter-final places will be decided in a preliminary stage with six teams divided into two groups.Group A includes Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal, while Group B consists of Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Oman. The top two teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals. Since India and Pakistan are on opposite sides of the draw, the two opponents can only meet if they both reach the semi-finals or final.India will face one of the teams that qualify from the preliminary round in the quarter-finals.

The women’s team will start against Japan

The Indian women’s team will begin their title defense against hosts Japan in the quarterfinals. If India win, they will face either Bangladesh or China in the semi-finals.In the other quarter-final matches, Sri Lanka will face Malaysia while Pakistan will take on Thailand. India will aim to retain the gold medals won in both men’s and women’s events at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.