Direct Quarter-Final Qualification Confirmed for India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka in 2026 Asian Games CricketIndia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka have officially secured direct entry into the quarter-finals for both the men’s and women’s cricket tournaments at the 2026 Asian Games. As ICC Full Member nations, these four teams bypass the preliminary stages entirely.
The upcoming matches will take place in Nagoya, Japan, featuring T20 format matches with full international status. India enters both competitions as the defending champions, following their gold medal successes in both categories during the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games. The Indian men’s squad will be captained by Shreyas Iyer, with Tilak Varma serving as vice-captain.
Preliminary Round Overview
In the men’s division, six teams will compete for the remaining four quarter-final positions through a preliminary group stage. The teams are divided into two groups: Group A consists of Afghanistan, Japan, and Nepal, while Group B includes Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Oman. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals following the round-robin phase. The men’s tournament is scheduled to run from September 24 to October 1.
In the women’s competition, eight teams will participate in a direct knockout format starting at the quarter-final stage, with matches scheduled between September 17 and 22. Thailand and Malaysia secured their spots via the qualifying tournament, with Thailand finishing as champions and Malaysia as runners-up. China earned the final qualification spot by defeating Nepal in the third-place playoff.
Women’s Quarter-Final Matchups
The women’s quarter-final draw was finalized on July 23. India is set to face the host nation, Japan, while Bangladesh will take on China. In the other bracket, Sri Lanka will face Malaysia, and Pakistan will compete against Thailand.
The draw presents India with their first high-level Asian Games encounter against Japan. Meanwhile, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will face qualifiers, and Bangladesh will meet China, who advanced via the third-place playoff.
