India and Pakistan could meet in Asian Games medal round — The National
India and Pakistan’s cricket teams could meet in the medal round of the 2026 Asian Games in Japan. Both teams received direct berths in the quarter-finals of the Twenty20-format tournament, The National reports.
The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will run from September 19 to October 4. More than 10,000 athletes will compete in 43 events. Cricket matches will be held at Korogi Sports Park.
Path to a possible match
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will begin the tournament directly in the quarter-finals. The remaining participants at this stage will be determined in qualifiers involving Japan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Malaysia, Oman and Hong Kong.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
The quarter-finals will take place on September 28 and 29. Pakistan and India will play their first matches on September 28. The teams will not meet at the opening stage: their match could take place in the battle for medals, particularly if both sides win their quarter-finals and are placed in different semi-final pairings. The semi-finals are scheduled for October 1, while the bronze and gold medal matches will be held on October 3.
Squads and preparations
India has named its main squad, led by Shreyas Iyer. The squad includes Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, among others. At the previous Asian Games, India won gold in the men’s and women’s cricket tournaments.
Pakistan will be led by Sahibzada Farhan, with Abdul Samad serving as vice-captain. The team includes Saim Ayub, Ali Raza, Abrar Ahmed, Haider Ali and Usman Khan, while Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi were not included in the squad. Ahead of the tournament, concerns were raised about the venue, team accommodation and sports infrastructure, but according to the outlet, these issues have now been resolved following temporary organizational measures.
