Shreyas Iyer’s Indian men’s cricket team will stay separately from the official Asian Games 2026 accommodation in Japan after the Board of Control for Cricket in India made its own arrangements for the squad and support staff ahead of the 20th edition.
The women’s team, however, will continue to stay in the facilities provided by the Asian Games organising committee. The difference in arrangements is mainly because of the size of the men’s contingent with the support staff taking the total number beyond the accommodation limit set by the organisers.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia explained the reason behind the decision and said the board did not want to split the men’s group during the tournament.
“BCCI has arranged its own arrangement for the men’s team since the contingent is much bigger than the permissible number of members because of the size of the support staff. We don’t want to segregate the men’s team during the tournament,” Saikia told Times of India.
He also confirmed why the women’s team would continue to use the Games facilities. “The women’s team is staying in the facilities provided by the organising committee since the size of the contingent is within the permissible number of 20 members,” Saikia said.
The accommodation issue has been a talking point in the build-up to the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Earlier, the BCCI had raised concerns about the facilities available to the Indian cricketers. The board eventually decided to make separate arrangements for the men’s side rather than divide the squad.
The Indian Olympic Association had earlier made it clear that the BCCI could make its own arrangements if it felt the official facilities did not meet the team’s requirements. However, the responsibility for accommodation, food, transport and other logistics would then rest with the cricket board.
India are the defending champions in both men’s and women’s T20 cricket at the Asian Games. The men’s team is led by Shreyas Iyer while Harmanpreet Kaur is in charge of the women’s side.
The men’s campaign is scheduled to begin on September 24, while the women’s team will enter the competition at the quarterfinal stage.
Saikia also backed the organisers over concerns about the cricket facilities and said the BCCI had faith in the arrangements being made in Japan.
“We fully trust the organising committee to give the best facilities. This is a big event and I am sure they will do what is required,” he said.
The accommodation issue comes at a time when India is dealing with wider logistical problems at the Asian Games. India’s chef de mission Sahdev Yadav recently confirmed that the contingent had booked additional hotel rooms after facing a shortage of accommodation.
When will the 2026 Asian Games opening ceremony start?
The opening ceremony of the 20th Asian Games edition at Aichi-Nagoya from 2:30PM (IST) onwards. Live streaming will be available on the Sony LIV app/website as well as the Sony Sports network on television screens.