Nagoya: The Indian men’s cricket team arrived in Nagoya on Saturday ahead of its Asian Games 2026 quarter-final against Afghanistan, with Shreyas Iyer-led India beginning its campaign with the aim of defending the gold medal won at the previous edition in Hangzhou.
India will face Afghanistan in the quarter-final on Monday, September 28. The match is scheduled to begin at 10:30 am IST.
The Indian squad features several established international players, with Iyer leading the side and Tilak Varma serving as vice-captain. Former India cricketer VVS Laxman is the head coach for the Asian Games campaign.
India received a direct entry into the quarter-final stage, while Afghanistan qualified from the opening round of the men’s competition.
India begin gold medal defence
India are entering the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with the goal of retaining the men’s cricket gold medal won at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
At the previous edition, India defeated Afghanistan for the gold after the final was washed out. India, who entered the final as the higher-seeded team, were awarded the gold medal under the tournament rules.
That Indian side was led by Ruturaj Gaikwad.
The 2026 campaign features a different leadership group, with Iyer taking charge of a squad that combines established international players with younger talent.
The men’s competition has now reached the knockout stage following the completion of the first round.
Afghanistan qualify from Group A
Afghanistan advanced to the quarter-finals from Group A along with Nepal.
Nepal finished at the top of the group, while Afghanistan secured the other qualifying position. Japan were eliminated after their match against Nepal was abandoned due to rain.
The result brought the first phase of the competition to a close and set up the quarter-final between India and Afghanistan.
The other quarter-final from the group will see Nepal take on Sri Lanka on September 29.
The remaining quarter-finalists will be determined from Group B, which features Malaysia, Hong Kong and Oman. The top two teams from that group will advance to the last eight and face Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Iyer leads experienced Indian squad
Iyer will captain an Indian squad containing several players with experience at international and franchise level.
The squad includes Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan, with Samson and Kishan providing wicketkeeping options.
The batting and all-round options include Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.
India’s bowling group features Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Yash Thakur.
Young batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is also part of the squad.
The combination gives India options across batting, spin, pace and all-round roles as the team enters the knockout phase of the competition.
VVS Laxman takes charge as head coach
Former India batter VVS Laxman is serving as head coach of the Indian men’s team for the Asian Games.
Laxman has previously worked with India’s senior team in coaching roles and has been involved with the country’s cricketing set-up after his international playing career.
His role in Nagoya will be to guide the team through a short-format tournament in which India will need to navigate the knockout stages to retain the gold medal.
With the quarter-final against Afghanistan marking India’s first match in the competition, the team will have to quickly adapt to the conditions and tournament environment.
Women’s team already wins gold
India’s men’s campaign comes after the women’s cricket team successfully defended its Asian Games title.
Harmanpreet Kaur-led India defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final to win the women’s gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
The victory gave India its first gold medal at the current edition of the Asian Games in cricket and continued the country’s strong record in the women’s competition.
The men’s side will now attempt to replicate that achievement and retain the title it won in Hangzhou.
The presence of several players with international experience gives India a squad capable of handling the pressure of the knockout stage, although the quarter-final against Afghanistan will be the team’s first competitive outing at the Games.
Iyer eyes another title as captain
For Iyer, the Asian Games campaign provides another opportunity to lead an Indian side in a major tournament.
The batter has previously led Kolkata Knight Riders to an IPL title and captained Punjab Kings to the IPL final in 2025.
An Asian Games gold medal would add another title to his captaincy record.
His immediate task, however, is to guide India through the quarter-final against Afghanistan before the team can turn its attention to the semi-finals and a possible title defence.
India’s match against Afghanistan is scheduled for 10:30 am IST on September 28 in Nagoya.
With the knockout stage now underway, India’s campaign to retain its Asian Games cricket gold medal begins with a quarter-final against an Afghanistan side that has already progressed through the opening round.