IND vs AFG, Asian Games 2026 Quarter-Final: As Team India prepares to defend their gold medal in Asian Games 2026, spotlight is heavily on the weather ahead of the quarter-final against Afghanistan at the Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin on September 28, Monday.
What is the weather forecast for Nisshin at the time of the game? Find out more here.
IND vs AFG, Asian Games 2026 Quarter-Final: Will rain play spoilsport in Nisshin?
With the match set to begin at 14:00 PM Local time, the probability of precipitation remains at 70%, according to Accuweather, while the cloud cover is expected to be at 97%. The forecast is worst for evening as the probability of precipitation remains 100%, while the cloud cover is forecasted at 99%.
However, the Men in Blue, led by Shreyas Iyer, are at an advantage if rain washes out of the quarter-final. Team India will progress to the semi-final due to the higher seeding. Out of the 13 T20Is played between the two sides, India have won 12, with the remaining one ending in no result. The two sides also locked horns in a three-game T20I series recently, with the Men in Blue winning 3-0.
India Squad:Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur, Vipraj Nigam.
Afghanistan Squad: Darwish Rasooli (capt), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Mohammad Akram, Hassan Eisakhil, Khalid Taniwal, Imran Mir, Faisal Shinozada, Najibullah Zadran, Farmanullah, Ismat Alam, Karim Janat, Nangyal Kharoti, Arab Gul Momand, Faridoon Dawoodzai, Abdollah Ahmadzai.
“We have to be mentally prepared irrespective of whatever the situation is going to be” – Shreyas Iyer
Speaking in a presser on Sunday, Indian captain Shreyas Iyer revealed that their focus is on giving the best performance despite the rain threat. He stated, as quoted by ANI:
“Yes, it is raining. We cannot give a reason for that. Because we have decided that we are a bunch of professionals. And such hurdles will keep coming. And we have to be mentally prepared irrespective of whatever the situation is going to be. So, we got a decent warm-up and a little practice of knocking. And tomorrow, we will try to adapt as soon as possible. We will see how the weather is. But that is secondary. The primary importance is to come and play the match.”
Despite looming as overwhelming favourites to clinch gold, the Men in Blue will not take any side lightly, given how close Japan ran them in the one-off T20I.