Asian Games 2026 Cricket: Full Schedule, Draw & Bangladesh Path

Asian Games 2026 cricket starts on September 17 in Aichi, Japan. Bangladesh’s women play China in the opening quarter-final, and the men’s tournament follows from September 24. All matches are T20s with full international status, and the event also counts toward Asian qualification for the LA28 Olympics. Here are the schedule, the draw, Bangladesh’s path and the key facts about the 20th Asian Games.

Asian Games 2026 Cricket Schedule at a Glance

Asian Games 2026 cricket is played in two blocks: women first, then men. According to Yahoo Sports, every match is a T20 with full international status, so the results count toward official records and rankings.

Event	Dates	Format	Venue
Women’s cricket	Sept 17 – Sept 22, 2026	8-team knockout (T20)	Korogi Athletic Park, Nisshin
Men’s cricket	Sept 24 – Oct 3, 2026 (semi-finals Oct 1, medal matches Oct 3)	Group stage + knockouts (T20)	Korogi Athletic Park, Nisshin
Opening ceremony	Sept 19, 18:00 JST	–	Paloma Mizuho Stadium, Nagoya
Closing ceremony	Oct 4, 2026	–	Nagoya

The official cricket itineray for the 2026 Asian Games in Japan has been unveiled, confirming that the Indian men's team will play their first match on September 28, while the Indian women's team will begin their campaign on September 18.https://t.co/RGfsboOONw

— Circle of Cricket (@circleofcricket) August 26, 2026

Japan Standard Time is three hours ahead of Bangladesh, so a 12:00 JST match starts at 9:00 a.m. in Dhaka. For match-day updates, follow our cricket match previews and the 9Wickets24 cricket blog.

Women’s Asian Games 2026 Cricket: Full Draw

The women’s event is a straight eight-team knockout: four quarter-finals, then semi-finals and the medal matches. There are no second chances, so one bad day ends a team’s tournament.

Quarter-final	Date	Semi-final Path
Bangladesh vs China	Sept 17	Winner likely meets India / Japan winner
India vs Japan	Sept 18	Winner meets Bangladesh / China winner
Sri Lanka vs Malaysia	TBC	Opposite half of the draw
Pakistan vs Thailand	Sept 17	Opposite half of the draw

What It Means for Bangladesh Women

Bangladesh are clear favourites against China in their Asian Games 2026 cricket opener. A win would most likely set up a semi-final against defending champions India, which would be a rematch of their Hangzhou 2022 semi-final. Bangladesh won bronze at those Games and will be aiming higher this time.

Men’s Asian Games 2026 Cricket: Groups and Seeds

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were seeded straight into the men’s quarter-finals because of their rankings. The other six teams play in two preliminary groups for the remaining quarter-final places.

Stage	Teams
Group A	Afghanistan, Japan, Nepal
Group B	Hong Kong China, Malaysia, Oman
Seeded to quarter-finals	India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh

Men’s Quarter-Final Line-Up

• Pakistan vs Group B runner-up – September 28
• India vs Group A runner-up – September 28
• Sri Lanka vs Group A winner – September 29
• Bangladesh vs Group B winner – the fourth quarter-final, 2:00 p.m. local time (11:00 a.m. in Bangladesh)

India and Pakistan are on opposite sides of the draw, so they can only meet in the final. Sri Lanka’s likely opponent is Afghanistan, who won silver in Hangzhou, which makes that one of the toughest quarter-finals.

Bangladesh Men’s Path to a Medal

Bangladesh will face the winner of Group B, most likely Hong Kong China, Oman or Malaysia. On paper that’s a favourable quarter-final. The Tigers won bronze at Hangzhou 2022, and a semi-final place looks realistic again.

Why Asian Games 2026 Cricket Matters for LA28

Cricket nearly missed out on Aichi-Nagoya. The organising committee added cricket and mixed martial arts to the programme on April 28 after a request from the Olympic Council of Asia, as ESPN reported. The full sports programme is listed on the official Aichi-Nagoya 2026 website. The tournament also serves as Asian qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where cricket returns to the Olympic programme.

For Bangladesh, a strong result in Japan could help secure a first Olympic cricket appearance in 2028. That gives this tournament extra weight for both the men’s and women’s teams.

20th Asian Games: 7 Key Facts

1. Host: Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya, Japan. Japan last hosted in Tokyo (1958) and Hiroshima (1994).
2. Dates: Officially September 19 to October 4, with some preliminary events starting September 10.
3. Scale: About 10,840 athletes from 46 nations compete in 469 events across 43 sports.
4. Main stadium: Paloma Mizuho Stadium, which hosts the ceremonies and athletics.
5. Motto: “Imagine One Asia”. The opening ceremony theme is “Harmonic Heart Beat”.
6. New sports: Freestyle BMX, mixed martial arts, padel, surfing, teqball and virtual taekwondo make their Asian Games debut.
7. Olympic link: Several sports, including cricket, feed into LA28 qualification, as Olympics.com explains.

Our Medal Predictions

Women: India are favourites to defend their gold, with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh the strongest challengers. If Bangladesh beat China and play fearlessly against India, they could reach their first Asian Games cricket final.

Men: India start as favourites, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as the main threats, and Afghanistan as the likely surprise package. With a favourable quarter-final, Bangladesh have a real chance of winning a medal again.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. When does Asian Games 2026 cricket start?

The women’s tournament starts on September 17, 2026, with Bangladesh vs China. The men’s tournament starts on September 24.

2. Where is Asian Games 2026 cricket being played?

All matches are at Korogi Athletic Park (Kōrogi Sports Park) in Nisshin, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

3. What format is cricket at the 2026 Asian Games?

All matches are T20s with full international status.

4. What time is the Asian Games 2026 opening ceremony in Bangladesh?

The ceremony starts at 18:00 in Japan on September 19, which is 3:00 p.m. in Bangladesh and 2:30 p.m. in India.

Final Word

Asian Games 2026 cricket brings medals, full international status and a route to LA28. Bangladesh’s women open the tournament on September 17, and the men enter as seeds in the quarter-finals, so both teams have a genuine shot at the podium in Japan.

While you wait for the first ball, see which batters top the list of most ODI runs among active players, or visit the 9Wickets24 homepage for more cricket coverage.