Inside the Asian Games and its men’s cricket competition
The countdown has officially ended as the 2026 Asian Games are upon us, sparking excitement across the continent.
Often described as the world’s second-largest multi-sport event after the Olympics, the Asian Games bring together the finest athletes from across Asia.
For cricket fans, the men’s competition is the crown jewel of the schedule. Running from 24 September to 3 October, this tournament promises plenty of exciting action, the possibility of records as minnows and superpowers clash, and of course, the usual regional bragging rights.
Here is everything you need to know about the upcoming tournament.
A brief history of cricket at the Asian Games
Cricket is a relative newcomer to the event. The sport made its official medal debut at Guangzhou 2010 and returned at Incheon 2014. After being left out of the 2018 edition, it made a triumphant return at Hangzhou 2022.
Historically, matches were not granted international status. However, the International Cricket Council changed that during the previous Games, meaning every match now goes into the official T20I record books.
The format
The tournament will be played entirely in the T20 cricket format. This version of the game ensures fast-paced games well suited to a multi-sport environment. The 20 over game is also the best format when teams of wildly different rankings play each other.
While there was initially talk during the sport’s early history about utilizing the 50-over One Day International format, organizers settled permanently on T20s to ensure maximum entertainment value and an efficient tournament structure.
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Tournament structure and seedings
A total of 10 teams will vie for the gold medal in Japan. The competition features a tiered structure designed to protect the highest-ranked nations.
The Super Four: The region’s powerhouses, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, enjoy a first-round bye. Thanks to their international rankings, they bypass the groups and land straight in the quarterfinals.
The Preliminary Groups: The remaining six teams are split into two groups of three. Group A features Afghanistan, Nepal, and the host nation, Japan.
Group B brings together Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Oman. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockouts. Ranked 41st in the world in T20I, Japan is the lowest ranked side in the competition.
The battlegrounds
The entire cricket tournament will take place at the picturesque Kōrogi Sports Park located in the Aichi Prefecture, Nisshin, Japan.
Given Japan’s developing cricket infrastructure, the venue will be under intense scrutiny as it hosts some of the biggest names in world cricket.
Expecting mismatches?
With a field that blends elite Test-playing nations and developing Associate members, heavy mismatches are highly likely during the preliminary stage.
Seeing regional heavyweights or robust outfits like Afghanistan line up against emerging teams like Japan could lead to highly lopsided margins.
However, the seeding format guarantees that once the quarterfinals arrive, the competition transforms into a brutal, elite-level shootout.
The favourites for gold
Defending champions India enter the tournament as the heavy favourites. Boasting an incredibly strong squad featuring stars like Shreyas Iyer and Jasprit Bumrah, they will be tough to beat.
Indeed, India have held nothing back and will field something that is close to their strongest available T20I side. It’s a genuine indication of the strength of depth India boast because they will be playing a simultaneous ODI series against the West Indies.
The ODI side boasts names like Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant.
India’s traditional rivals Pakistan, along with an unpredictable Sri Lanka and dangerous Bangladesh squads, mean the battle for the podium will be wide open.
Pakistan were woeful on their recent tour to England (although that was in the Test arena where they were shown to be in complete disarray), while Sri Lanka are currently preparing for the Games with a quick tour of England – where they were on the end of a brutal hiding in the opening T20 on Tuesday.
The truth is, India look like a sure thing for the gold with the other teams there to play for silver and bronze medals.
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