Cricket has been confirmed for Asian Games 2026 by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The announcement was made on Tuesday as part of the sports program for the 2026 edition of the Games.
Clearing the cloud of uncertainty, Cricket was also formally approved for inclusion at the Games during a meeting in host city Nagoya on Monday.
This will be the fourth time that cricket will be making an appearance in the Asian Games programme.
Cricket made its debut as a medal event in the Asian Games at Guangzhou 2010 and returned at Incheon 2014. The sport returned to the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou where all matches were granted international status by the International Cricket Council (ICC) – the global governing body for cricket.
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The Asian Games 2026 are scheduled to be held in the Aichi and Nagoya prefectures of Japan from September 19 to October 4.
“The venue for cricket will be in Aichi prefecture, but the exact location has not been decided. Interest will be high, not only because of cricket’s popularity in South Asia in particular but also because the T20 (20 overs per side) format will be included in the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028. This will be cricket’s first appearance in the Olympics since 1900 in Paris, where Great Britain beat France by 158 runs in the final of the two-team tournament,” it added.
The OCA and local organisers will hold meetings this week as they ramp up preparations for the 2026 Games, which will be in Nagoya and the wider Aichi prefecture.
The body said that cricket will be played somewhere in Aichi but it is unclear where because there is currently no venue in the prefecture for the sport.
“The venue for cricket will be in Aichi prefecture, but the exact location has not been decided. Interest will be high, not only because of cricket’s popularity in South Asia in particular but also because the T20 (20 overs per side) format will be included in the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028. This will be cricket’s first appearance in the Olympics since 1900 in Paris, where Great Britain beat France by 158 runs in the final of the two-team tournament,” it added.
As many as 15,000 athletes could compete at the September 19 to October 4 at Asian Games next year — more participants than the Olympics.
Bangladesh claimed the gold in the men’s competition in Asian Games 2010, with Afghanistan taking the silver and Pakistan the bronze. In the 2014 Incheon Games, Sri Lanka won the gold, Afghanistan took silver, and Bangladesh earned bronze.
India won gold medals in both men’s and women’s categories at Hangzhou 2023. Afghanistan and Sri Lanka won the silver in the men’s and women’s events, respectively, while Bangladesh claimed bronze in both categories.
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Cricket in the Asian Games are played in T20 format. This will serve as a valuable platform for cricketers from across Asia to showcase their skills ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
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The sport is also set to return to the Olympic fold at LA 2028 after more than a century after its only appearance at Paris 1900, with Great Britain beating France in a Test match to win the gold medal.
