India vs Japan, One-off T20I Schedule
India will face Japan in a historic one‑off T20I at the Sano International Cricket Ground in Tochigi on Tuesday, 22 September.
The fixture serves as India’s final competitive outing before the men’s cricket tournament at the Asian Games begins and marks the first ever men’s international meeting between the two nations.
Date: 22 September 2026
Venue: Sano International Cricket Ground, Tochigi
Start time: 09:30 IST
The match is being played under the Suzuki Cup banner, commemorating 75 years of diplomatic ties between India and Japan.
A key selection dilemma is whether India will give 15‑year‑old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi another chance after he was omitted from the Afghanistan T20I series.
India may also rest some senior players, balancing workloads following the Afghanistan series and in preparation for the imminent Asian Games campaign.
India Team News
India’s Asian Games squad has been altered twice. Varun Chakaravarthy has been ruled out of the Japan T20I and the Games after suffering a side strain, and Vipraj Nigam has been 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 Nitish Kumar Reddy, meanwhile, has been withdrawn from the Asian Games squad and will join India’s ODI setup for the upcoming West Indies series.
Typhoon Dujuan disrupted preparations, forcing India to cancel a training session ahead of the match. Captain Shreyas Iyer acknowledged the team has limited exposure to the local conditions and Japanese opponents, making the one‑off contest an unusual yet valuable preparation tool.
India Predicted Playing 11 vs Japan
India’s probable playing eleven: 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
The full India squad announced for the fixture includes: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur and Vipraj Nigam.
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