In both the men’s and women’s divisions of the 2026 Asian Games cricket draw, which took place on July 23, 2026, India and Pakistan were drawn into opposing halves of the bracket. Under this format, a match between the two teams can only take place at the medal stage; group-stage or early knockout encounters are not permitted.
Every game will be place at Nagoya’s Paloma Mizuho Stadium in the T20 format. There are ten teams in the men’s competition, and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan are seeded straight into the quarterfinals. Afghanistan, Nepal, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Malaysia, and Oman compete in a group stage for the remaining six seats.
Both matches are set on September 28. India has been drawn into Quarterfinal 2 and Pakistan into Quarterfinal 1. The gold and bronze medal matches are scheduled on October 3, with the men’s semifinals taking place on October 1. The gold-medal final is the earliest the two teams may play each other because they are in opposing halves; the bronze-medal play-off is the only other option.
At the 2023 Asian Games, India won gold in both the men’s and women’s cricket competitions. Shreyas Iyer will captain the men’s team and Harmanpreet Kaur the women’s team during the 2026 competition.
How might a possible meeting between India and Pakistan be facilitated by the women’s draw?
In the women’s competition, eight teams are participating. Pakistan is ranked fourth, behind Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, while India is ranked first. Japan will play India in the quarterfinals, and Pakistan will play Thailand.
The two teams have completely different semifinal paths because they are in different halves of the women’s bracket. India will play either Bangladesh or Hong Kong, China, in the semifinals if they defeat Japan. If Pakistan defeats Thailand, they will play either Malaysia or Sri Lanka in the penultimate round. India and Pakistan can only compete directly in the women’s gold-medal final; the bronze-medal play-off is the other option. The last day of the women’s competition, September 22, is when both of those games are set to take place.
What is the overall cricket schedule for the 2026 Asian Games?
The dates of the 2026 Asian Games are September 19–October 4. In order to accommodate both the men’s and women’s draws in full, cricket is planned over a slightly broader window, from September 17 to October 3.
After the women’s competition concludes on September 22, focus turns to the men’s competition, which is preparing for its medal matches on October 3. The most anticipated match of the tournament, an India-Pakistan match, is only saved for the latter stages of either competition due to the draw system, guaranteeing that it can only take place as a high-stakes medal match.
