Harmanpreet Kaur-led India’s women’s team and Shreyas Iyer-led India’s men’s team will be looking to successfully defend their Asian Games cricket gold medals from Hangzhou when they begin their campaigns at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan.

The Asian Games officially open on September 19, but the women’s cricket competition will begin two days earlier, on September 17. The men’s tournament will get underway on September 24.

During the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, Ruturaj Gaikwad-led India won the men’s cricket gold medal on the basis of their higher international ranking after the gold-medal match against Afghanistan was washed out. Harmanpreet Kaur and company, meanwhile, defeated Sri Lanka by 19 runs in the women’s final to claim the gold medal.

Unlike the last edition, when India sent a second-string men’s squad while fielding a full-strength women’s team, the BCCI has announced full-strength squads for both competitions at Aichi-Nagoya.

The women’s squad has undergone one forced change from the original selection, with Jemimah Rodrigues ruled out due to injury and replaced by Pratika Rawal. India’s men’s squad will also have three reserve players travelling with the team — Rasikh Salam, Kartik Tyagi and Vicky Ostwal — as confirmed by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.

India’s full cricket contingent for Asian Games 2026

India’s men’s contingent: Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vc), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Reserves: Rasikh Salam, Kartik Tyagi, Vicky Ostwal.

India’s cricket schedule for the Asian Games 2026

The women’s cricket tournament will begin on September 17 and conclude on September 22, while the men’s competition will run from September 24 to October 3.

India’s men, along with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, have been given direct entry into the quarter-finals based on their ICC rankings. India will play their quarter-final on September 28.

The women’s competition follows a similar format, with India entering at the quarter-final stage. The defending champions will face hosts Japan on September 18.

The accommodation issue remains a concern

While the Indian squads and competition schedule are now in place, accommodation remains one of the talking points around cricket’s participation at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.

The Games are not using a single Athletes’ Village, with participants being housed across hotels, temporary accommodation and a cruise ship. Reports of container-style villas and cruise-ship accommodation had raised concerns over the facilities available to athletes, with cricket teams among those affected by the wider accommodation arrangements.

The BCCI has, however, played down any immediate concern. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said the accommodation issue was not part of the board’s meeting agenda and that there was currently no pressing matter before the BCCI.

At the same time, Saikia made it clear that the board would not compromise on the requirements of its players and support staff. He said the BCCI would take an appropriate decision if the circumstances changed and would ensure that the Indian contingent received the best possible facilities.

If necessary, the board is prepared to make its own arrangements rather than accept facilities that it feels do not meet the team’s requirements.