Asian Games 2026: Team India Matches Get New Timings, Here’s When You Can Watch Them in India

Team India’s cricket match timings have been revised, with the updated schedule changing when fans can watch the matches in India. Check the new timings and dates here.

There's a major update on the men's cricket schedule for the Asian Games 2026. The timings for several important knockout matches have been changed. According to the new schedule, some matches will now begin at 1:30 PM Japan local time, instead of the earlier 2:00 PM slot. This change directly affects the Indian team's quarter-final match. However, there are no changes to the women's cricket schedule.

The Indian men's cricket team will play directly in the quarter-finals. India's quarter-final match is scheduled for September 28 and will now start at 1:30 PM Japan local time. Since Japan is 3.5 hours ahead of India, the match will begin at 10:00 AM for viewers back home. Meanwhile, the morning matches will go on as planned. These games will start at 9:00 AM Japan local time, which is 5:30 AM in India.

Semi-final and Final Timings Also Changed

It's not just the quarter-finals; the timings for other knockout matches have also been revised. The second semi-final on October 1, which the Indian team is likely to reach, will now start at 1:30 PM Japan time. Following this, the gold medal match on October 3 will also begin at 1:30 PM Japan time. However, the first quarter-final featuring Pakistan, the first semi-final, and the bronze medal match will all stick to their original 9:00 AM start time in Japan.

Why Were the Match Timings Changed?

Sources say that evenings get dark quite early in Japan. The cricket venue for the games does not have floodlights. Since men's matches can often run long, the organisers decided to move the games forward by half an hour to be safe. Interestingly, it seems this information hasn't reached all the concerned parties yet. Officials from the Indian Olympic Association have said they have not received any official communication about this change. On the other hand, the Asian Games' official website has already been updated with the revised schedule.

No Changes for Preliminary Round Matches

The schedule for the preliminary round matches, which will feature teams like Afghanistan, Japan, Nepal, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Oman, remains unchanged. The women's cricket schedule is also not affected. The women's competition will start directly from the quarter-finals, with matches scheduled for their original 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM slots in Japan.

India-Japan T20 Match is a Separate Event

Just to be clear, the T20 International match between India and Japan on September 22 is not part of the Asian Games cricket schedule. That match will be held at the Sano International Stadium and will start at 1:00 PM Japan local time (9:30 AM in India). The Asian Games 2026 will be hosted in the Aichi-Nagoya region of Japan from September 19 to October 4.

India's Men's Cricket Squad for the Asian Games

The Indian squad includes: Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (Wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (Wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (Vice-captain), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, and Yash Thakur.