Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan secured direct entry into the Men's cricket ​knockout stage at the 2026 Asian ‌Games after the draw was announced on Thursday (23).

The 10-team men's competition, starting from 24 September in ​Nagoya, will begin with a preliminary ​round featuring Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, ⁠Nepal and Oman competing for the ​remaining quarterfinal berths.

Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal were drawn ​in Group A, while Hong Kong, Malaysia and Oman were placed in Group B. The top two ​teams from each group will advance ​to the knockout stage to join the four seeded ‌ sides.

The ⁠Women's tournament, scheduled from 17-22 September, features eight teams and will begin at the quarterfinal stage. Defending champions India will face ​hosts Japan, Bangladesh ​will ⁠take on China, Sri Lanka will meet Malaysia, and Pakistan will ​play Thailand.

All matches in both competitions ​will ⁠be played in the Twenty20 format.

India swept the cricket gold medals at the 2022 ⁠Asian Games, ​held in 2023 in ​Hangzhou, claiming both the Men's and Women's titles.

Agencies