India to meet winner of Sri Lanka vs Nepal in Asian Games 2026 semi-final on October 1
India will face either Sri Lanka or Nepal in the men’s cricket semi-final at the Asian Games 2026 in Japan on October 1, 2026, after their quarter-final against Afghanistan was abandoned because of continuous rain and a wet outfield.
The Men in Blue entered the tournament in Japan as defending champions, having won the gold medal at the 2023 edition in Hangzhou, and are captained at this event by Shreyas Iyer. India were among the teams given direct entry to the quarter-finals owing to their higher ICC T20I ranking, a status shared by Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
India’s quarter-final with Afghanistan was called off without a ball being bowled after persistent rain left the outfield unplayable. With no play possible, India progressed to the semi-finals because they were the higher-seeded team and therefore did not have to contest a quarter-final result on the field.
The opponent for India will be decided by the quarter-final between Sri Lanka and Nepal, which is scheduled for September 29; the winner of that match will advance to the last four to meet India. Sri Lanka entered the quarter-finals directly as one of the seeded sides, while Nepal reached the knockout stage by finishing among the top teams in their group.
The washout removes a quarter-final fixture from India’s schedule and gives Shreyas Iyer and his squad additional preparation time ahead of the semi-final. The team can therefore concentrate on the last-four match without a preceding quarter-final to play.
The men’s cricket semi-final involving India is scheduled for October 1, 2026, at the Aichi Prefectural Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan. India will face the winner of Sri Lanka vs Nepal in that fixture as they aim to take another step toward retaining the gold medal.
