India’s opening match against Afghanistan at the 2026 Asian Games faces disruption due to heavy rain forecasts, according to Cricinfo.
Scheduled for Monday at Nisshin, the match may be entirely washed out, potentially allowing India to advance directly to the semifinals based on their higher T20I seeding.
India’s men’s cricket team, led by captain Shreyas Iyer, will seek to defend their Asian Games gold medal and secure a second consecutive cricket medal for the country. The team began training on Sunday ahead of the competition, with players including left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and skipper Iyer in attendance.
Recent matches at this ground have also been affected by inclement weather. On Friday, encounters between Malaysia and Oman, as well as Japan and Nepal, either ended in a washout or no result due to rain.
India’s women’s cricket team successfully defended their title earlier by defeating Sri Lanka by 147 runs to claim the gold medal. In the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, India won gold after the final against Afghanistan was washed out; the higher-seeded Indian team, led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, was awarded the medal.
This year, the men’s team includes several prominent international players, making it one of India’s strongest cricket contingents at the Games. Shreyas Iyer, who has captained teams to multiple IPL finals and won the IPL with Kolkata Knight Riders, aims to add an Asian Games gold medal as captain.
The India men’s cricket squad for the 2026 Asian Games comprises Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Vipraj Nigam, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Thakur, Arshdeep Singh, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.