Cricket returns to the Asian Games in September 2026, and it does so in a country with almost no cricketing history: Japan. Both the men's and women's tournaments will be played at the Kōrogi Sports Park in Aichi Prefecture, with India defending gold medals won in both competitions at Hangzhou 2023.
Cricket at the 2026 Asian Games: Key Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Host | Aichi-Nagoya, Japan |
| Venue | Kōrogi Sports Park |
| Format | Twenty20 International |
| Women's tournament | 17 – 22 September 2026 |
| Men's tournament | 24 September – 3 October 2026 |
| Women's teams | 8 |
| Men's teams | 10 |
| Defending champions | India, in both the men's and women's events |
The Women's Tournament: Straight Knockout
The women's competition runs from 17 to 22 September and is a direct knockout from the quarter-finals — eight teams, three rounds, no group stage. There is no margin at all: lose once and the tournament is over.
Four teams received direct entry by virtue of being Asia's ICC Full Member nations in women's cricket: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
A pure knockout format is unusual in international cricket and it flattens the gap between sides considerably. In a group tournament the stronger team has time to recover from one poor session; here a single collapse in a quarter-final ends a campaign. It is the format most likely to produce an upset, which is part of why the Asian Games cricket event has a different character to the Asia Cup.
The Men's Tournament: Groups, Then Knockout
The men's competition runs from 24 September to 3 October and uses a two-stage structure built around ICC rankings.
The four highest-seeded teams receive automatic byes into the quarter-finals, based on their ICC rankings. The six lowest-seeded teams were drawn into two groups of three, and play a single round-robin preliminary stage from 24 to 26 September. The top two from each of those groups advance to the quarter-finals, joining the four seeded sides.
| Stage | Dates |
|---|---|
| Preliminary groups (6 lowest-seeded teams) | 24 – 26 September 2026 |
| Quarter-finals onward (with 4 seeded byes) | Late September 2026 |
| Tournament concludes | 3 October 2026 |
That structure protects the strongest sides from an early exit while giving the region's emerging nations — the kind of teams covered on our team pages — a genuine route into the knockout stage and a match against a Full Member.
India Defend Two Gold Medals
India won both the men's and women's cricket gold medals at the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games, and arrives in Japan as the title holder in each. Winning both again would be a considerable achievement given the knockout-heavy formats, and particularly in the women's event where a single quarter-final defeat ends the defence.
Asian Games cricket has historically been contested by squads that are not always a country's first-choice international side, because the event frequently clashes with the bilateral calendar. That has produced results that would be unlikely in an Asia Cup, and it is one reason the competition is worth following closely rather than assuming form carries over.
Why Cricket in Japan Matters
Japan is not a cricketing nation in any conventional sense. The Japan Cricket Association fields a national side that competes in ICC regional competition, but the sport has a tiny domestic base compared with baseball, football and sumo.
Staging both Asian Games cricket tournaments there puts the sport in front of an audience that has essentially no exposure to it, on infrastructure built for the Games. For a sport actively pursuing growth — cricket returns to the Olympic programme at Los Angeles 2028, its first appearance since 1900 — a well-run tournament in a large non-cricketing market is more valuable than the medal table suggests.
The Asian Games has also historically been a route to international exposure for the region's smaller cricket nations, giving them fixtures against Full Members that the bilateral calendar never provides.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is cricket at the 2026 Asian Games?
The women's tournament runs from 17 to 22 September 2026 and the men's tournament from 24 September to 3 October 2026.
Where is Asian Games 2026 cricket being played?
All matches, men's and women's, are at the Kōrogi Sports Park in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
How many teams are competing?
Eight teams in the women's tournament and ten in the men's.
Who are the defending champions?
India, in both the men's and women's events, having won both gold medals at the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games.
What format is Asian Games cricket?
Twenty20 International. The women's event is a straight knockout from the quarter-finals; the men's event has a preliminary group stage for the six lowest-seeded teams, with the four highest-seeded receiving byes to the quarter-finals.
Which teams qualified automatically?
In the women's tournament, Asia's four ICC Full Member nations — Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — received direct entry. In the men's tournament, the four highest-seeded teams by ICC ranking received byes to the quarter-finals.
Is cricket returning to the Olympics?
Yes. Cricket is on the programme for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, its first appearance since the 1900 Games in Paris.