India will pay Japan their utmost respect by fielding their best squad in the historic one-off T20I on September 22 at the Sano International Cricket Ground. The hosts, on the other hand, won’t do so, leaving out at least four of their arguably best players — Abhishek Anand, Sabaorish Ravichandran, Abdul Samad and Esam Rahman — from the squad, which is the same as their Asian Games squad.
The reasons for it are partially forced and partially pragmatic. All four players are also not part of Japan’s Asian Games squad because the competition’s rules say that to qualify for it, the athlete needs to have a Japanese passport, which they don’t have. However, all four are qualified to play the match against India, which will be played under the International
Cricket Council (ICC)’s rules.
The players have spent three years in Japan and, per the ICC, can be considered Japanese citizens. To get a Japanese passport, they’ll need to spend at least five years in the country and follow several other regulations and processes, including giving up their original citizenship.
So, the Japan Cricket Association (JCA) has decided against using these four players against India, even though they are eligible for it, to maintain continuity between the two squads.
Anand, an Indian-born batting all-rounder who debuted for Japan in 2025, bats in the middle order and is a useful medium-pace bowler. Ravichandran, meanwhile, was the 2023 Japan Player of the Year. He is an automotive engineer from Chennai, who bowls leg-spin and bats too.
Samad is a slow left-arm orthodox bowler who debuted in 2024. He represents the Kansai Chargers domestically and is considered one of the best bowlers to stop runs in the middle overs. Rahman, on the other hand, is a pace all-rounder and is considered one of Japanese cricket’s brightest prospects.
Japan squad for the one-off T20I against India: Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (c), Charlie Hara-Hinze, Benjamin Ito-Davis, Alester Kadowaki-Fleming, Kohei Kubota, Jake Kusuda-Nairn, Wataru Miyauchi (wk), Reo Sakurano-Thomas, Alex Shirai-Patmore (wk), Shoma Sugaya-Slater, Declan Suzuki-McComb, Tsuyoshi Takada, Ibrahim Takahashi, Makoto Taniyama, Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake
