It’s exciting. It’s confirmed. And it’s all here. It is widely known already that Cricket will once again feature at the Asian Games this time around too, with the men's T20 tournament set to be held in the land
of the rising sun, aka Japan as part of the 2026 Asian Games.
This will be a closely held and hopefully exciting contest with the competition set to run from September 24 until October 3 and will see ten teams battle for continental glory. So block your calendars for more cricket is on its way.
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Now, the defending champions India along with teams such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, have already received what is a direct entry into the quarter-finals. That’s basis their rankings. This leaves us with the other 6 teams. So what about them?
The remaining six teams — which include Afghanistan, Japan, Nepal, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Oman — are said to begin their campaigns in the preliminary stage. 
24 September Preliminary Round – Matchday 1
25 September Preliminary Round – Matchday 2
26 September Preliminary Round – Matchday 3
28 September Quarter-finals (2 matches)
29 September Quarter-finals (2 matches)
1 October Semi-finals
3 October Bronze Medal Match & Gold Medal Match
Preliminary Round Groups Group A * Afghanistan * Japan * Nepal Group B * Hong Kong China * Malaysia * Oman
The top two teams from each group progress to the quarter-finals. Teams Directly in the Quarter-finals * India * Pakistan * Sri Lanka * Bangladesh These four nations were seeded directly into the last eight based on ICC rankings
