India and Pakistan will avoid an early clash in the cricket competition at the 2026 Asian Games. Any meeting between the arch-rivals can come only in a medal match.
Men’s Competition
India and Pakistan are the top two seeds in the men’s event. The draw has placed them in separate sections. As a result, they can meet only in the gold-medal match or the bronze-medal playoff.
The same format applies to the women’s competition. A potential India-Pakistan encounter can also come only in the final or the third-place match.
The Asian Games will run from September 19 to October 4. The cricket competition will take place from September 17 to October 3 at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya. All matches will follow the T20 format.
The women’s competition will begin first. The final will take place on September 22. The men’s event will then take center stage.
The men’s tournament features 10 teams. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have direct quarterfinal places as the top seeds. Afghanistan, Nepal, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Malaysia and Oman will compete for the remaining knockout places.
Pakistan will play in Quarterfinal 1, while India will play Quarterfinal 2. Both matches will take place on September 28. Their opponents will emerge from the group stage.
The winner of Quarterfinal 1 will face the winner of Quarterfinal 4 in the semifinal. Meanwhile, the winner of Quarterfinal 2 will face the winner of Quarterfinal 3. Both semifinals will take place on October 1.
The gold-medal and bronze-medal matches will take place on October 3. These matches provide the only possible stage for an India-Pakistan clash in the men’s competition.
Women’s Competition
India are the top seeds in the women’s event. Pakistan are seeded fourth behind Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
India will face Japan in the quarterfinals. They could then meet either Bangladesh or Hong Kong, China, in the semifinals.
Pakistan will take on Thailand in their quarterfinal. If they progress, either Sri Lanka or Malaysia will await them in the semifinals.
This keeps the two rivals apart until the medal matches on September 22.
India have already announced their squads for both competitions. Shreyas Iyer will captain the men’s team, while Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the women’s side.
