Asian Games Archives

Cricket set for return at 2026 Asian Games in Japan

Cricket is officially set to be part of the 20th Asian Games, scheduled to take place in Japan from September 19 to October 4, 2026, with the matches to be played in the T20 format.

The decision follows a series of meetings between the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organising Committee (AINAGOC), with final approval pending a formal nod from the OCA Board, expected to be a mere formality.

According to a statement from a Japan Cricket Association (JCA) official, the 3rd OCA Coordination Committee Meeting will be held from May 1 to 2, where final confirmations regarding the cricket competition are expected.

The meetings, which begin on April 30 and run until May 2, are likely to finalise key logistical and scheduling details.

As in past tournaments, the excitement of cricket will unfold in its fastest and most exhilarating format—T20.

While the exact number of nations joining this thrilling competition is still under wraps, the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou provide a tantalising glimpse of what’s to come.

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With 14 men’s and nine women’s teams fiercely vying for glory, cricket enthusiasts can look forward to an electrifying array of talent and fierce competition once again.

India will enter the 2026 Asian Games as defending cricket champions in both men’s and women’s categories, having clinched gold in Hangzhou.

A significant point of discussion is the venue. While the JCA has confirmed that the matches will be hosted in Aichi Prefecture, the exact location remains undecided.

Interestingly, organisers are exploring the possibility of constructing a modular stadium—similar to the temporary venue set up in New York for the ICC T20 World Cup—suggesting an innovative approach to accommodate cricket’s growing footprint.

“There’s a lot of interest—not just because of cricket’s popularity in South Asia, but also due to its inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,” the OCA noted.

The upcoming Asian Games will feature a total of 41 sports and are expected to bring together approximately 15,000 athletes and officials from the 45 member nations of the OCA.

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Jaiswal ton powers India to victory in Asian Games debut

HANGZHOU: India’s explosive opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed seven sixes in a sublime maiden T20I century as India’s men’s team kicked off their Asian Games 2023 campaign with a 23-run victory in the first quarter-final over gutsy Nepal on Tuesday at Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field.

With superstars such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at home for the ICC World Cup 2023 beginning on Thursday, the world’s top-ranked Twenty20 team has a second-string squad in Hangzhou for Asian Games 2023.

But it is still formidable, packed with promising youngsters who have excelled in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and a host of players with international experience.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, Jaiswal’s masterful 100, from 49 balls, plus late fireworks from Rinku Singh (37 not out) and Shivam Dube (25 not out) helped India to 202-4.

Nepal had bludgeoned a record 314-3 against minnows Mongolia in the qualifying rounds of the Asian Games 2023, but they could only manage 179-9 in reply, with Avesh Khan and Ravi Bishnoi taking three wickets each.

“They are a good side so we’re not surprised at how they came at us,” said India skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad. “It wasn’t our best day but we still managed to get a win.”

Cricket has been played at the Asian Games twice before, at Guangzhou 2010 and Incheon 2014, but India did not take part.

Bangladesh won the men’s title in 2010 while Sri Lanka are defending champions, with Afghanistan runners-up both times.

In their debut match at the Asian Games, Jaiswal got India off to a scorching start and they were cruising at 103 without loss at an overcast Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field.

But when Gaikwad fell slogging to deep mid-wicket on 25 it sparked a mini-collapse with Tilak Varma (two) and Jitesh Sharma (five) soon following.

At the other end, Jaiswal, who played in the Test and T20I series against the West Indies in July, brought up his maiden century in T20 international cricket off 48 balls, with seven sixes and eight fours.

The 21-year-old’s luck ran out soon after, caught on the ropes by Abinash Bohara going for another big hit.

That brought Kolkata Knight Riders star Rinku to the crease and he slammed 37 off 15 balls in a late flurry that added 64 runs from the last five overs.

“Wherever you go and score a century, especially when you are representing your country, it’s a proud moment and you get goosebumps,” said Jaiswal.

“This is my first T20 century and it’s pretty special.”

A rampant Nepal rewrote cricket history on their way to the quarter-finals in beating Mongolia, becoming the first men’s team to score more than 300 in a T20 international.

But India’s bowling unit was a different proposition.

Nepal were motoring at 62-1 in the eighth over, but the introduction of leg-spinner Bishnoi put the brakes on.

He snared captain Rohit Paudel for three and crucially Kushal Malla — who slammed the fastest-ever T20 international century, off 34 balls, against Mongolia — for 29.

It left Nepal in trouble at 77-4 in the 11th over and while Dipendra Airee (32) and Sundeep Jora (29) did their best, it was not enough.

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Fastest fifty and ton power Nepal to highest T20I total, victory margin

HANGZHOU: Nepal cricket team broke a plethora of T20I records when they faced Mongolia in the opening men’s cricket match of the Asian Games 2023 at the Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field on Monday.

Winning the toss, Mongolia invited Nepal to bat first and the batting team turned the game into a run-fest with a record 314-run total in their allocated 20 overs.

Nepal’s 314-3 is the highest-ever total by a men’s team in T20 cricket, be it international or domestic. This was also the first instance of a men’s team scoring 300 runs in a T20 innings.

Prior to that, the highest T20 total was Afghanistan’s 278, which they scored against Ireland in 2019, as well as the Czech Republic who scored the same against Turkey in 2019.

Nepal lost their first wicket in the fifth over with 44 runs on the board, which brought Kushal Malla to the crease, who played blazing innings at a berserk pace to score the fastest T20I century in only 34 balls.

The previous record for the fastest T20I century was jointly held by David Miller, Rohit Sharma, and Sudesh Wickramasekara, with each having taken 35 balls.

Kushal Malla scored an explosive unbeaten 137 off 50, hitting eight fours and 12 sixes.

Meanwhile, Nepal’s captain Rohit Paudel scored 61 off 27, with the help of two boundaries and six sixes, before getting out in the 18th over with 259 runs on board.

Dipendra Singh Airee came out to bat with only 11 balls to go, but he made the best out of available resources and struck the fastest fifty in T20 cricket.

The record was previously held by Yuvraj Singh in T20Is, while Chris Gayle and Hazratullah Zazai held the record in domestic franchise cricket. They all took 12 balls to score a fifty.

In his undefeated 10-ball 52, Dipendra Singh Airee scored at a strike rate of 520, marking the first instance in T20s where a batter has scored at a strike rate exceeding 500 in an innings of 10 or more balls.

Prior to this, the record was held by Malcolm Waller, who played at a strike rate of 430 against Matabeleland Tuskers during Zimbabwe’s domestic T20 tournament in 2016.

The Nepal cricket team also set a new record for the most sixes in a T20 international by a team with 26 sixes. The previous record of 22 was held by Afghanistan against Ireland in Dehradun in 2019 and by West Indies against South Africa in Centurion earlier this year.

Nepal bowlers then bowled out Mongolia for a meagre 41, defeating them by a whopping 273 runs margin and setting a new record for the highest margin of victory in terms of runs in all T20s. The previous record was the Czech Republic’s 208-run victory against Panama in 2021.

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India women’s team strike cricket gold on debut at Asian Games 2023

HANGZHOU: India women’s team struck gold on their Asian Games cricket debut when they beat Sri Lanka by 19 runs in the final at Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field on Monday.

They had declined to enter any teams on the two previous occasions cricket had been played at the multi-sport event, at Guangzhou in 2010 and Incheon in 2014.

Batting first after winning the toss at the Zhejiang University for Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field, the India women’s team reached 116-7 with Smriti Mandhana (46) and Jemimah Rodrigues (42) putting on 73 for the second wicket.

Sri Lanka’s women’s team started the chase badly and they were reduced to 14-3 in the fifth over with right-arm seamer Titas Sadhu doing the damage with two wickets in her first four balls.

She finished with the remarkable figures of three wickets for six runs from her four overs.

Sri Lanka were always behind the run rate despite Hasini Perera looking to accelerate, hitting four fours and a six in a rapid 25.

When Nilakshi de Silva became the fifth wicket to fall after a battling 23, Sri Lanka were 78-3 and still needed 39 with 23 balls remaining.

Two more wickets saw them need a near-impossible 25 off the last over and India women’s team celebrated as they finished on 97-8 off their 20 overs.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Women’s cricket team lost to the Bangladesh women’s team by five wickets in the third-place match for the bronze medal at the Asian Games

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Pakistan Shaheens’ training camp for Asian Games to kick off tomorrow

LAHORE: Pakistan Shaheens’ training camp for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China is set to commence on September 25, Monday (tomorrow).

Pakistan Shaheens will participate in the brief four-day training camp at the National Cricket Academy Lahore, which will conclude on September 29, before the team’s departure for Hangzhou, China on September 30.

Pakistan Shaheens’ squad will take part in the practice session at Bob Woolmer Indoor School tomorrow.

Young all-rounder Qasim Akram will lead Pakistan Shaheens in the tournament, to be played in T20 format.

20-year-old Qasim, has till date featured in 20 first-class matches and 40 T20 matches and also captained Pakistan U19 in the ICC U19 World Cup in 2022. In the 15-member squad, there are eight players who have already represented the Pakistan men’s team at the international level.

The players who have represented Pakistan at the international level are Aamir Jamal (2 T20Is), Arshad Iqbal (1 T20I), Asif Ali (21 ODIs, 55 T20Is), Haider Ali (2 ODIs, 33 T20Is), Khushdil Shah (10 ODIs, 24 T20Is), Mohammad Hasnain (9 ODIs, 27 T20Is), Shahnawaz Dahani (2 ODIs, 11 T20Is) and Usman Qadir (1 ODI, 23 T20Is).

Also, eight players in the 15-member squad, Aamir Jamal, Arafat Minhas, Arshad Iqbal, Omair Bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Rohail Nazir, Shahnawaz Dahani and Sufiyan Muqeem have been associated with the Shaheens side recently. Since May 2023, Pakistan Shaheens have toured Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Australia.

As per the rule of the Asian Games, Pakistan Shaheens will feature in the event from the quarter-finals stage scheduled to take place on 3 and 4 October. The semi-finals will be played on 6 October, while the final will take place on 7 October. The match for the Bronze medal will also take place on Saturday, 7 October.

Pakistan men’s team won a bronze medal in their maiden and only appearance in the Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China, in 2010.

Pakistan Shaheens squad:

Qasim Akram (captain), Omair Bin Yousuf (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Arafat Minhas, Arshad Iqbal, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mirza Tahir Baig, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Akhlaq (wk), Rohail Nazir, Shahnawaz Dahani, Sufiyan Muqeem and Usman Qadir

Non-travelling reserves – Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Muhammad Irfan Khan Niazi and Mubasir Khan

Player Support Personnel – Shahid Aslam (head coach-cum-manager), Umar Rasheed (bowling coach), Hanif Malik (batting and fielding coach) and Hafiz Naeem ul Rasool (physiotherapist)

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Pakistan Shaheens squad for Asian Games announced

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board on Thursday, announced Pakistan Shaheens’ squad for the 19th Asian Games, set to take place in Hangzhou, China, from 28 September to 7 October.

Young all-rounder Qasim Akram will lead Pakistan Shaheens in the tournament, to be played in T20 format.

In Zimbabwe, Shaheens whitewashed Zimbabwe A in the two four-dayers, but lost 4-2 in the 50-over matches to Zimbabwe Select. Shaheens later won the ACC Men’s Emerging Asia Cup in Sri Lanka in July, beating India A by 108 runs in the final. However, they finished as runners-up in the six-team Top End T20 Series in Darwin, Australia earlier this month.

As per the tournament’s rule, Shaheens will feature in the event from the quarter-finals stage scheduled to take place on 3 and 4 October. The semi-finals will be played on 6 October, while the final will take place on 7 October. The match for Bronze medal will also take place on Saturday, 7 October.

Pakistan men’s team won a bronze medal in their maiden and only appearance in the Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China, in 2010.

Pakistan Shaheens squad:

Non-travelling reserves – Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Muhammad Irfan Khan Niazi and Mubasir Khan

Player Support Personnel – Shahid Aslam (head coach-cum-manager), Umar Rasheed (bowling coach), Hanif Malik (batting and fielding coach) and Hafiz Naeem ul Rasool (physiotherapist)

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Olympic Council of Asia announces new dates for the 19th Asian Games

KUWAIT CITY: The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced the revised schedule for the upcoming 19th Asian Games which will now be held in Hangzhou from 23rd September to 8th October 2023.

The continental competition was originally scheduled to take place in Hangzhou from September 10 to September 25. However, because of the COVID 19 global pandemic, the OCA Executive Board (EB) postponed the Games on May 6, 2022, and a “Task Force” was established by the EB to determine the new dates for the Games.

In order to identify a window for the Games that did not interfere with other significant international sporting events, the Task Force has had several meetings with the Chinese Olympic Committee, the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee (HAGOC), and other stakeholders over the past two months.

Following this, the OCA EB properly approved the Task Force’s suggested dates and the continental games will now be held according to the revised schedule.

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