India will take on Japan in a historic one-off T20I at the Sano International Cricket Ground in Tochigi on Tuesday, September 22.
The match comes ahead of India's Asian Games campaign and will serve as the team's final competitive outing before the men's cricket tournament begins. It is also the first men's international meeting between India and Japan.
India vs Japan, One-off T20I Schedule
Date: September 22, 2026
Venue: Sano International Cricket Ground, Tochigi
Start time: 9:30 AM IST
The match is being played under the Suzuki Cup banner and is part of events marking 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Japan.
The biggest selection question is whether India hand 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi another crack after he was not given an opportunity during the Afghanistan
T20I series.
India could also manage the workload of some established players, particularly after the Afghanistan series and with the Asian Games campaign beginning shortly afterwards.
India Team News
India's Asian Games squad has undergone two changes. Varun Chakaravarthy has been ruled out of the Japan T20I and Asian Games after suffering a side strain, with Vipraj Nigam named as his replacement. Nitish Kumar Reddy, meanwhile, has been withdrawn from the Asian Games squad and will join India's ODI setup for the West Indies series.
Preparations have also been affected by Typhoon Dujuan, with India's training session cancelled ahead of the match because of poor weather. Iyer has admitted the team has limited knowledge of the conditions and Japan's players, making the one-off game an unusual but useful preparation opportunity.
India Predicted Playing 11 vs Japan
Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Yash Thakur, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
India Squad
Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur, Vipraj Nigam.
