Nagoya, Sep 27: India will begin its Asian Games 2026 men's cricket campaign against Afghanistan on Monday, with the Shreyas Iyer-led side entering the knockout stage as one of the favourites for the gold medal.
The Indian team will have to adapt quickly to unfamiliar conditions at Korogi Sports Park, where the women's competition was held earlier. While the women's matches produced sizeable totals, the men's games have generally been lower-scoring, making the nature of the surface a key factor.
India have had limited match practice since their one-off game against Japan in Sano, where the hosts pushed them hard on a turning track. The squad subsequently travelled from Tokyo to Nagoya on the bullet train, using the break to explore Japan.
"It has
been beautiful," Iyer said on the BCCI website, reflecting on the experience.
India have brought a full-strength squad, including Jasprit Bumrah, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma and Axar Patel. Their selection has drawn debate given the team's focus on the 2027 ODI World Cup, but the objective remains clear: win gold. India need three consecutive victories in the knockout stages to successfully defend their Asian Games title.
Afghanistan, meanwhile, arrive with a relatively inexperienced squad led by Darwish Rasooli. Six players in their 15-member group are uncapped. They have already played two group-stage matches, beating Japan before suffering a surprise defeat to Nepal. Their batting remains a major concern, and they will need a significant improvement to challenge India.
Much attention will also be on 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, although he could find it difficult to break into India's settled combination featuring Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson.
The match will begin at 10 am IST on Monday.
