India, Pakistan Earn Quarterfinal Berths for 2026 Cricket

The draw for the cricket tournaments at the 2026 Asian Games was finalized on Thursday, July -, with defending champions India and other top-ranked teams securing direct entry into the knockout stages. The events will be held in Nagoya, Japan, this September and October, featuring both men's and women's competitions in the Twenty20 format.

In the men's tournament, ten teams will compete. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh have been seeded directly into the quarterfinals based on their rankings. The remaining six teams will contest a preliminary round split into two groups. Group A consists of Afghanistan, Japan, and Nepal, while Group B includes Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Oman. The top two finishers from each group will advance to join the four seeded nations in the quarterfinals.

This structure sets the stage for high-stakes knockout matches, with a potential clash between rivals India and Pakistan only possible in the semifinals or the gold medal match. The men's competition is scheduled to run from September 24 to October 3, with all matches carrying official international status.

The women's tournament, featuring eight teams, will begin directly at the quarterfinal...