India's Asian Games gold defence vs Afghanistan under rain threat
Synopsis
The Indian men's cricket team, led by Shreyas Iyer, begins its Asian Games campaign against Afghanistan, but the match is under threat of a washout due to rain. In case of a washout, India will proceed to the semifinals due to higher seeding.
Threat of rains looms over India's Asian Games campaign opener against Afghanistan on Tuesday, according to Cricinfo.
Shreyas Iyer's men and back-to-back T20 World Cup champions India will be eyeing the successful defence of their Asian Games gold medal and a double medal in cricket for India at the second successive Asian Games edition. However, there is heavy rain expected at Nisshin on Monday with a chance that the game could face a complete washout. In that case, India will reach the semifinals because of higher seeding on the basis of their T20I Ranking.
The last two matches on the ground, played on Friday, between Malaysia and Oman (complete washout) and Japan versus Nepal (no result) were also affected by rain.
Team India Begins Training
Team India began training on Sunday ahead of their men's cricket campaign at the Asian Games, with the side set to begin its campaign against Afghanistan on Monday. During the training session, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, skipper Shreyas Iyer and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi were among the players present.
Chasing a Legacy of Gold
India completed their title defence in women's cricket, with the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side beating Sri Lanka by 147 runs to clinch the gold medal. During Team India's previous visit to the Asian Games in Hangzhou, some of India's future T20 World Cup-winning stars brought the gold medal to India, beating Afghanistan on the basis of being a higher-seeded team after the final was washed out. The team was led by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain and Indian middle-order batter Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Captain Shreyas Iyer at the Helm
Now, the men's team will be led by 'Sarpanch Sahab', Shreyas Iyer, India's T20 captain. The presence of several of India’s leading international players makes this one of the country’s strongest cricket contingents at the Asian Games. Shreyas, who has won an Indian Premier League (IPL) title with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) for Mumbai as a captain and led Delhi Capitals (DC) and, in 2025, Punjab Kings (PBKS) to the IPL finals, will be aiming to get another accolade as a captain.
India Men’s Cricket Squad for Asian Games 2026
*India men’s cricket squad for Asian Games 2026: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Vipraj Nigam, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Thakur, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. (ANI)