Asian Games Cricket 2026: Live Streaming, Schedule, Squads & TV Channels

Sony Sports Network holds exclusive broadcast rights for Asian Games Cricket 2026 in India, with live streaming on SonyLIV. Willow TV and Willow by Cricbuzz carry the tournament in the USA and Canada. The men’s competition begins September 24 at 5:30 AM IST (00:00 UTC) with Afghanistan vs Japan in Nisshin.

Cricket at the Asian Games has rarely carried this much weight. The 2026 edition in Nagoya features 10 men’s teams playing T20 cricket with full international status. India arrive as defending champions after their Hangzhou 2022 sweep, but the field has tightened. Afghanistan have finished runners-up three consecutive times.

The men’s competition starts September 24 with a group stage involving Afghanistan, Japan, Nepal, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Oman, before India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh enter at the quarter-final stage on September 28–29. The final is scheduled for October 3.

Asian Games Cricket 2026 Official Live Streaming & TV Channels

USA & Canada

Willow Sports is offering approximately 700 hours of free, live Asian Games coverage across four channels, with Willow TV and Willow by Cricbuzz serving as the exclusive home for the men’s and women’s T20 tournaments specifically. The free ad-supported Willow Sports channel is a genuine no-subscription option for North American viewers.

India

Sony’s coverage includes regional language feeds on Sony Sports 3, Sony Sports 3 HD, and Sony Sports 4 for select matches. Free-to-air coverage on DD Sports has also been reported for certain fixtures — verify closer to match day.

Bangladesh

The Sony Sports 1 HD feed is distributed through Akash Digital TV, with Akash Go handling streaming. This differs from India’s direct SonyLIV arrangement despite the shared Sony production.

Men’s Asian Games Cricket 2026 Full Schedule

All men’s matches start at either 5:30 AM IST (00:00 UTC / 9:00 AM JST) or 10:30 AM IST (05:00 UTC / 2:00 PM JST).

Asian Games Cricket Men’s Squads

India (Men) — Confirmed

Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma (vc), Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Shivam Dube, Vipraj Nigam, Axar Patel, Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana

Key Absences: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav are not in the squad. This is a second-string Indian side with significant first-choice players rested.

Players to watch: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is the youngest member of the squad and a genuine unknown quantity at international level. Abhishek Sharma’s T20I strike rate makes him the most dangerous batting option in this lineup.

Pakistan (Men) — Confirmed

Sahibzada Farhan (c), Abdul Samad (vc), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufyan Moqim, Usman Khan (wk)

Key Absences: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, and Haris Rauf are absent. Pakistan have selected a young squad with four uncapped players.

Players to watch: Saim Ayub returns to the national setup after a strong domestic season. Usman Khan’s power-hitting at the top of the order could be Pakistan’s most direct route to a medal.

Bangladesh (Men) — Confirmed

Litton Das (c & wk), Tawhid Hridoy (vc), Nasum Ahmed, Yasir Ali, Parvez Hossain Emon, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Saif Hassan, Mosaddek Hossain, Rishad Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Saifuddin, Najmul Hossain Shanto

Key Absences: Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Taskin Ahmed are not part of the squad.

Player to watch: Tanzid Hasan Tamim has been Bangladesh’s most consistent T20I opener over the past 18 months and will be central to their top-order approach.

Afghanistan (Men) — Confirmed

Darwish Rasooli (c), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Abdullah Ahmadzai, Mohammad Akram, Ismat Alam, Faridoon Dawoodzai, Hassan Eisakhil, Karim Janat, Faisal Khan, Nangialai Kharoti, Imran Mir, Arab Gul Momand, Farmanullah Safi, Khalid Taniwal, Najibullah Zadran

Key Absences: Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are absent. Afghanistan have named a young, largely untested squad.

Player to watch: Karim Janat’s all-round ability gives Afghanistan a middle-order option who can bowl at the death — a rare combination in their setup.

Nepal (Men) — Confirmed

Dipendra Singh Airee (c), Lokesh Bam (wk), Aasif Sheikh (wk), Kushal Bhurtel, Rohit Kumar Paudel, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Aarif Sheikh, Lalit Rajbanshi, Gulsan Kumar Jha, Nandan Yadav, Sundeep Jora, Sher Malla, Kushal Malla

Key Absences: Full-strength squad available.

Player to watch: Sandeep Lamichhane remains Nepal’s premier wicket-taking option. His leg-spin could be decisive on a Nagoya surface that has shown early-season grip.

Japan (Men) — Confirmed

Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (c), Wataru Miyauchi (wk), Alex Shirai-Patmore (wk), Charlie Hara-Hinze, Benjamin Ito-Davis, Alester Kadowaki-Fleming, Kohei Kubota, Jake Kusuda-Nairn, Reo Sakurano-Thomas, Shoma Sugaya-Slater, Declan Suzuki, Tsuyoshi Takada, Makoto Taniyama, Ibrahim Takahashi, Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake

Key Absences: Full-strength squad available.

Player to watch: Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming is Japan’s most prolific run-scorer and the face of their home campaign. His captaincy and batting will define how competitive Japan are against Full Member opposition.

Note on remaining squads: Hong Kong, Malaysia, Oman, and Sri Lanka have not officially confirmed full 15-player squads as of September 2026. Hong Kong’s Yasim Murtaza is expected to captain, and Oman’s Sufyan Mehmood has been named in early provisional lists. Verify these closer to the tournament.

What to Watch For

The Korogi Sports Park pitch is the single biggest variable in this tournament. Early reports from the Japan Cricket Association describe a turf surface that has been installed specifically for the Asian Games and will be making its competitive debut at this event.

On fresh turf wickets in Japan, the early overs have historically favoured seam movement which gives Afghanistan’s and Nepal’s new-ball bowlers a genuine window against more technically accomplished batting line-ups. India’s decision to rest their front-line pace attack and rely on Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana means the opening powerplay could be more contestable than India’s ranking suggests.

Sahibzada Farhan has been named captain ahead of more experienced T20 specialists, and the selection of four uncapped players signals that Pakistan are using this tournament as an audition for the next T20 World Cup cycle rather than as a medal-at-all-costs exercise.

If Pakistan find themselves in a tight semi-final, the absence of a senior finisher like Iftikhar Ahmed or Asif Ali becomes relevant. Abdul Samad’s role as vice-captain suggests Pakistan are betting on his power game translating to the death overs.

The India and Pakistan knockout separation is worth tracking strategically. The draw places them on opposite halves of the bracket, meaning they cannot meet before the gold medal match or bronze medal playoff on October 3.

For India, the path runs through a quarter-final against either Afghanistan, Japan, or Nepal, then a semi-final against Sri Lanka or Bangladesh. Pakistan’s route likely goes through Hong Kong, Malaysia, or Oman in the quarter-final, then either Sri Lanka or Bangladesh in the semi-final.

If we don’t see any upset here, the final of the Asian Games Cricket 2026 will be played between Pakistan vs India for the Gold medal.

Last updated: September 24, 2026