Cricket at the 2026 Asian Games

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Cricket
at the 2026 Asian Games
VenuesKōrogi Sports Park
LocationNisshin, Japan
Dates17 September – 3 October 2026
Competitors180 from 12 nations

The Cricket events will be among the 43 sports played at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.[1] Both men's and women's Twenty20 International tournaments are scheduled to be played from 17 September to 3 October 2026.[2] This will be the sport's fourth appearance at the Games. India are the defending champions in both events.[3][4]

Background

Inclusion of cricket

A final decision on the inclusion of cricket was scheduled for 2025, with the Asian Cricket Council having pushed for the bid, and the then-OCA President Randhir Singh was "hopeful" for it. Its inclusion would act as the Asian qualifiers event for the 2028 Summer Olympics.[5][6][7] On 28 April 2025, the organizing committee approved the inclusion of cricket and mixed martial arts to the programme, following a request from OCA.[8]

Competition venue

All the matches will be played at the Kōrogi Sports Park for both the men's and women's team events.[9] The venue had previously hosted the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Sub-regional Qualifier in earlier that year.[10]

Nisshin, Aichi
Kōrogi Sports Park
Capacity: 300

Schedule

All times are local Japan Standard Time (UTC+9).[11]

PPreliminary round ¼Quarterfinals ½Semifinals FFinals
Event↓/Date →17th
Thu		18th
Fri		19th
Sat		20th
Sun		21st
Mon		22nd
Tue		23rd
Wed		24th
Thu		25th
Fri		26th
Sat		27th
Sun		28th
Mon		29th
Tue		30th
Wed		1st
Thu		2nd
Fri		3rd
Sat
Men's team—N/aPPP—N/a¼¼—N/a½—N/aF
Women's teamPP—N/a½—N/aF—N/a

Teams and qualification

Japan qualified for both events as the host.[12] The Asian teams being the ICC full members qualfiied for the tournament, while other teams qualify through a separate tournament. The men's qualifier event was held in West Coast, Singapore.[13] The women's qualifier event were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[14]

NationMen'sWomen's
 AfghanistanYes—N/a
 BangladeshYesYes
 China—N/aYes
 Hong KongYes—N/a
 IndiaYesYes
 JapanYesYes
 MalaysiaYesYes
 NepalYes—N/a
 OmanYes—N/a
 PakistanYesYes
 Thailand—N/aYes
LKAYesYes
Total: 12 NOCs10/108/8

Men's event

A total of ten teams will compete in the men's event.

Mode of Qualification Date Hosts Berths Qualified teams
Host country 25 September 2026 —N/a 1  Japan
ICC Full Members —N/a —N/a 5  Afghanistan
 Bangladesh
 India
 Pakistan
 Sri Lanka
2026 Asian Games Qualifier 31 May – 9 June 2026 Singapore West Coast 4  Hong Kong
 Malaysia
   Nepal
 Oman
Total 10

Women's event

A total of eight teams will compete in the women's event.

Mode of Qualification Date Hosts Berths Qualified teams
Host country 25 September 2026 —N/a 1  Japan
ICC Full Members —N/a —N/a 4  Bangladesh
 India
 Pakistan
 Sri Lanka
2026 Asian Games Qualifier 26 – 31 May 2026 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 3  China
 Malaysia
 Thailand
Total 8

Seedings

The seedings for the two events will be determined based on the ICC T20I Rankings.

Men's team

Seed
Team
WR
1
2
3
4

Women's team

Seed
Team
WR
1
2
3
4

Squads

 Afghanistan  Bangladesh  Hong Kong  India  Japan  Malaysia    Nepal  Oman  Pakistan  Sri Lanka

Medal summary

Medal table

  *   Host nation (Japan)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
Totals (0 entries)0000

Medalists

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Men's team
Women's team

References

  1. "Asian Games: Cricket, mixed martial arts added to 2026 program". Kyodo News. 29 April 2025. Archived from the original on 29 April 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  2. Pitts, Andre (24 July 2025). "Cricket to return at Asian Games 2026; eight women's and 10 men's teams to compete". Olympics. Retrieved 6 May 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. "India bag historic gold in men's cricket at Asian Games". The Times of India. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. "India clinch their first-ever Gold medal in cricket at the Asian Games". International Cricket Council. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. Tagore, Vijay (2 October 2024). "Doubts arise over cricket's inclusion in 2026 Asian Games". Cricbuzz. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  6. "LA28 cricket likely to be held on East Coast to attract Indian viewership". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 8 November 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  7. "Cricket Faces Asian Games 2026 Exclusion Ahead Of Los Angeles Olympics". Forbes. 24 September 2024. Archived from the original on 24 September 2024.
  8. "Cricket to be part of 2026 Asian Games". Asian News International. 25 July 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. "Ground Identified To Ensure Legacy For Cricket In Japan After 2026 Asian Games". Forbes. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  10. "Japan Cricket to host 2028 ICC Men's T20 World Cup EAP Qualifier in May 2026". Czarsportz. 26 January 2026. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  11. "Session Schedule for the 20th Asian Games" (PDF). AINAGOC. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  12. Butler, Nick (25 September 2016). "Aichi and Nagoya officially awarded 2026 Asian Games". Inside the Games. insidethegames.biz. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  13. "Singapore Cricket to host Asian Games 2026 Men's Qualifier in May/June 2026". Czarsports. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  14. "Nepali Women National Cricket team announced for Asian Games". Nepal News. 6 May 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.