India and Pakistan have been drawn in opposite halves of both the men’s and women’s cricket competitions at the 2026 Asian Games, ensuring that the two arch-rivals can face each other only in the gold medal matches if they successfully progress through their respective campaigns. The cricket events will be held during the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games from September 19 to October 4.
In the men’s competition, defending champions India, along with Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, have earned direct qualification to the quarter-finals as the four highest-ranked Asian teams in the ICC men’s T20I rankings. The remaining six teams—Afghanistan, Hong Kong China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates—will first compete in the preliminary stage. Group A features Afghanistan, Hong Kong China and Singapore, while Group B consists of the UAE, Japan and Malaysia. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals.
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India will begin the defence of their women’s cricket title against hosts Japan in the quarter-finals. A victory would send them into a semi-final against either Bangladesh or China. Pakistan, meanwhile, have been drawn against Thailand in the quarter-finals and could meet Sri Lanka in the semi-finals, leaving a potential India-Pakistan encounter possible only in the final.
Cricket made its return to the Asian Games at Hangzhou in 2023, where India claimed gold medals in both the men’s and women’s events. The men’s team, led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, defeated Afghanistan in a rain-affected final, while Harmanpreet Kaur’s women’s side beat Sri Lanka by 19 runs, with Titas Sadhu starring with the ball. The sport will continue in the T20 format at the 2026 Asian Games before returning to the Olympic programme at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
