The men’s cricket competition at the 2026 Asian Games will feature 10 teams and will be held in Japan from September 24 to October 3. Squads are being announced ahead of the tournament, with several major cricketing nations naming strong line-ups.
Afghanistan Squad
Captain: Darwish Rasooli
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Players: Abdullah Ahmadzai, Mohammad Akram, Ismat Alam, Faridoon Dawoodzai, Hassan Eisakhil, Mohammad Ishaq, Karim Janat, Faisal Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Imran Mir, Arab Gul Momand, Farmanullah Safi, Khalid Taniwal and Najibullah Zadran.
Afghanistan will be led by Darwish Rasooli, with the squad combining experienced international players and emerging talent.
Bangladesh Squad
Captain: Litton Das
Players: Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Mohammed Saif Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Tawhid Hridoy, Musaddek Hossain Saikat, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Rishad Hossain, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mohammed Saifuddin, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Hasan Mahmud.
Bangladesh have named a 15-member squad under Litton Das.
India Squad
Captain: Shreyas Iyer
Players: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
India have selected a high-profile 15-member squad featuring a mix of established international stars and younger players.
Japan Squad
Captain: Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming
Players: Charlie Hara-Hinze, Benjamin Ito-Davis, Alester Kadowaki-Fleming, Kohei Kubota, Jake Kusuda-Nairn, Wataru Miyauchi, Reo Sakurano-Thomas, Alex Shirai-Patmore, Shoma Sugaya-Slater, Declan Suzuki, Tsuyoshi Takada, Ibrahim Takahashi, Makoto Taniyama and Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake.
Japan, the host nation, will be led by Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming.
Nepal Squad
Captain: Dipendra Singh Airee
Players: Rohit Kumar Paudel, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Aarif Sheikh, Aasif Sheikh, Kushal Bhurtel, Lalit Rajbanshi, Gulsan Kumar Jha, Nandan Yadav, Lokesh Bam, Sundeep Jora, Sher Malla and Kushal Malla.
Nepal will rely on several familiar names, including Dipendra Singh Airee, Sandeep Lamichhane and Rohit Kumar Paudel.
Oman Squad
Captain: Sufyan Mehmood
Players: Muzaffar Shiralkar, Mohammed Ali Al Balushi, Zubair Al Balushi, Shuaib Al Balushi, Nawed Al Balushi, Wasim Al Balushi, Ahmed Al Zadjali, Sameer Othman, Waheed Al Balushi, Faris Al Balushi, Mohammed Osman, Issa Rahim Al Balushi, Abdul Jalil and Qais Al Balushi.
Pakistan Squad
Captain: Sahibzada Farhan
Vice-Captain: Abdul Samad
Players: Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufyan Moqim and Usman Khan.
Squads Yet to Be Announced
Hong Kong: Squad yet to be announced.
Malaysia: Squad yet to be announced.
Sri Lanka: Squad yet to be announced.
Tournament Category and Format
The men’s event consists of 10 teams, with Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal in Group A and Hong Kong, Malaysia and Oman in Group B. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka receive byes into the quarter-final stage.
The quarter-finals begin on September 28, followed by the semi-finals on October 1. The bronze-medal and gold-medal matches are scheduled for October 3. India enter the tournament as defending Asian Games champions after winning gold at Hangzhou in 2022.
