How India and Pakistan could meet in Asian Games 2026 men’s cricket

India and Pakistan could face each other in the men’s cricket tournament at the Asian Games 2026 depending on outcomes in the knockout rounds, with quarter-finals scheduled for September 28 and medal matches on October 3 in Nisshin.

The men’s competition is underway and India enter as defending champions after beating Afghanistan in the final of the last edition; India’s women’s team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, have already secured the women’s gold at these Games. India received direct entry to the quarter-final stage on the basis of the previous edition’s results, and the tournament favourites tag has been attached to their men’s side in coverage of the ongoing competition. Pakistan also bypassed earlier rounds by qualifying directly for the quarter-finals after finishing fourth in the last Asian Games men’s event.

India’s first knockout match is set for September 28 at Korogi Sports Park, where they will meet the team that finishes second in Group A. Pakistan are scheduled to play on September 28 as well, appearing in the first quarter-final against the second qualifying team from Group B. Both sides therefore play their quarter-final ties on the same day.

If India and Pakistan each win their quarter-final matches they will progress to the semi-finals. A victory for both teams in the semi-finals would set up an India versus Pakistan final, which would be contested for the gold medal on October 3 in Nisshin. That final is the first scenario in which the two sides could meet for the title.

An alternate pathway to an India–Pakistan meeting on October 3 is the Bronze Medal Match: should both teams lose their semi-finals, they would be paired against each other in the third-place playoff, which is scheduled to take place before the final on October 3. If one side wins its semi-final and the other loses, a direct India–Pakistan encounter would not occur under the current bracket.

The immediate next fixtures for the two teams are their respective quarter-finals on September 28; subsequent outcomes from those matches will determine whether they can meet in either the bronze match or the gold-medal final on October 3 in Nisshin.