India vs Japan is set to be the first-ever international cricket match between the two countries. The two teams will face each other on September 22 at the Sano International Cricket Ground in Tochigi Prefecture. The Japan Cricket Association and the Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed the fixture in a joint statement. The two nations have never met before in international cricket.
Both teams are scheduled to participate in the men’s cricket tournament at the Asian Games 2026. Japan will enter the competition in the group stages. India, on the other hand, will begin directly in the quarter-final round. India won the gold medal in the men’s cricket competition at the previous Asian Games four years ago. They also clinched the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title earlier this year. The match against Japan will help India practise and prepare for the Asian Games.
BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia expressed his enthusiasm about the occasion. He stated that the BCCI is delighted to be part of this historic event. He noted that the match takes the Indian team to new territory. It also provides an opportunity to introduce cricket to a wider audience in Japan and East Asia.
JCA CEO Naoki Miyaji also spoke about the significance of the match. He described the ability to invite the reigning World Champions to Japan as a landmark moment for the association. He referred to the Sano International Cricket Ground as the home of cricket in Japan.
The upcoming Asian Games competition is an important step in this process. Cricket is also set to return to the Olympics in the future. This match between India and Japan represents progress in growing the game beyond its traditional strongholds.
VVS Laxman to Coach India at Asian Games 2026 as Shreyas Iyer Leads Men’s Team
VVS Laxman will coach the Indian men’s cricket team at the Asian Games 2026. The tournament will take place in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, later this month. Laxman currently serves as the chief of the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence. He will be assisted by Sunil Joshi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Subhadeep Ghosh. This information was confirmed in the list of coaches released by the Sports Ministry.
Laxman has experience in this role. He previously coached the Indian men’s team at the 2023 Asian Games. On that occasion, India won the gold medal. The regular head coach of the senior team, Gautam Gambhir, will not be available for the Asian Games. He will be with the senior team for the home ODI series against the West Indies. The first ODI of that series is scheduled for September 27.
The cricket competition at the Asian Games will begin on September 24. India’s men’s team will play its opening match four days later. The women’s team will be coached by Amol Muzumdar. He will be assisted by bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi and fielding coach Munish Bali.
The Indian women’s team will enter the competition at the quarter-final stage. They will face Japan in that round. The men’s team will take on the second-placed side from Group A. Group A consists of Afghanistan, Japan, and Nepal.
India will defend its men’s T20 Asian Games title. The men’s team will be led by captain Shreyas Iyer. Teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is also part of the squad. The Indian women’s team will also defend its title. They will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur.
The men’s squad includes Shreyas Iyer as captain, along with Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
The women’s squad features Harmanpreet Kaur as captain, along with Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Gunalan Kamalini, Bharti Fulmali, Sree Charani, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, and Nandani Sharma.
FAQs
Q. Where will India and Japan play their first T20I?
A. The match will be at Sano International Cricket Ground.
Q. Who will coach India at the Asian Games 2026?
A. VVS Laxman will coach the men’s team.
Q. Who will captain India’s men’s team at the Asian Games?
A. Shreyas Iyer will captain the team.
Q. Who will India face in their opening men’s match?
A. India will face the second-placed team from Group A.
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