Asian Games 2026: Indian Cricket Team’s Twin Gold Defence Set as Shreyas Iyer and Harmanpreet Kaur Lead India
NEW DELHI: India are heading into the Aichi-Nagoya continental event with twin cricket titles to defend after the competition schedule and both national squads were confirmed ahead of the September tournament. The Indian Cricket Team will begin the men’s campaign at the quarterfinal stage, while Harmanpreet Kaur’s women’s side starts earlier in a direct quarterfinal against hosts Japan.
The Asian Games 2026 cricket tournaments will be staged at Korogi Athletic Park in Aichi Prefecture, with the women’s event running from September 17 to 22 and the men’s tournament from September 24 to October 3. The schedule was released before the Games, ending uncertainty over when India’s title defence will begin.
India’s twin gold-medal defence begins
India arrive as defending champions in both men’s and women’s cricket. The Indian Cricket Team won the men’s gold in Hangzhou in 2023, while the women also took gold at the previous Games.
The schedule gives the two squads different routes. The women will face Japan on September 18 in the quarterfinals, with the semifinals scheduled for September 20 and the final for September 22. The Asian Games 2026 calendar puts the women’s competition at the centre of the opening week.
Harmanpreet Kaur leads women’s challenge
Harmanpreet Kaur has been named captain of the women’s squad, with Smriti Mandhana as vice-captain. The squad also includes Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh and Renuka Thakur.
The Indian Cricket Team women’s selection was made by the BCCI in June. Jemimah Rodrigues was later ruled out of the Games with a high-grade right hamstring tear, after the BCCI confirmed in August that she would miss both the Women’s Asia Cup and Asian Games.
Their opening assignment against Japan gives the defending champions little room for error because the women’s competition begins with knockout matches.
Shreyas Iyer to captain men’s side
Shreyas Iyer will captain the men’s team, with Tilak Varma as vice-captain. The squad includes Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
The men’s tournament starts with two three-team groups. Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal form Group A, while Hong Kong, Malaysia and Oman are in Group B. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are seeded directly into the knockout stage.
The Asian Games 2026 schedule means India’s men will enter on September 28, when they face the second-placed team from Group A. The Indian Cricket Team could therefore have only one match before the medal rounds if they suffer defeat, raising the pressure on the opening knockout game.
When India begin their campaigns
The women’s India-Japan quarterfinal is scheduled for September 18 at 2pm local time, or 10:30am IST. The men’s quarterfinal involving India is listed for September 28 at 1:30pm local time.
As reported by The Indian Express, the confirmed timetable places the men’s final and bronze-medal match on October 3, while the women’s final is on September 22. India’s selections and fixtures now give fans a clear roadmap for the title defence.
For the Indian Cricket Team, the mission is straightforward: repeat the double-gold success from Hangzhou. For the Asian Games 2026, cricket will again provide one of the headline medal contests, with India entering both events as defending champions.
