India’s campaign in the men’s cricket competition at the Asian Games 2026 is set to begin on Monday against Afghanistan. Led by Shreyas Iyer , the defending champions earned a direct berth in the quarter-finals and will be aiming to retain the gold medal India won at the previous edition while emulating the success of the women’s team. Fans are eager to see promising talents such as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma in action, but weather could play a major role in the contest. The match is scheduled to be held at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, where heavy rainfall is expected to threaten proceedings.
1 in the ICC Men’s T20I Rankings, while Afghanistan occupy the 10th spot. India also won gold medals in both the men’s and women’s cricket events at the 2022 Asian Games (held in 2023 in Hangzhou). More recently, the India women’s team successfully defended its title by defeating Sri Lanka in the final on September 22, securing the country’s first gold medal of the ongoing Asian Games campaign.
Earlier in the day, the quarter-final between Pakistan and Hong Kong at the same venue was called off without the toss due to persistent rain. As a result, Pakistan advanced to the semi-finals by virtue of being the higher-ranked side in the ICC T20I Rankings. Interestingly, the men’s team was awarded the gold medal after the final against Afghanistan was abandoned due to rain.
If the quarter-final between India and Afghanistan is washed out, Shreyas Iyer and Co. will progress to the semi-finals as per the tournament regulations. India are currently ranked No.
