Reigning world champions India will play Japan in the countries’ first men’s international cricket match, the International Cricket Council announced on Friday.
The one-off Twenty20 international is scheduled for September 22 at Sano International Cricket Ground in Tochigi Prefecture, according to a joint confirmation from the Japan Cricket Association and the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
The fixture will serve as preparation for the men’s cricket competition at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. Japan will begin its Asian Games campaign in the group stage, while India is due to enter directly in the quarterfinals.
India won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup earlier this year and will also travel to Japan as the defending Asian Games men’s cricket champion.
For Japan, the match represents an opportunity to test its players against one of international cricket’s leading teams before competing on home soil at the Asian Games.
BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia described the fixture as a chance to introduce cricket to a wider audience in Japan and East Asia. Japan Cricket Association chief executive Naoki Miyaji called hosting the world champions a landmark for the national governing body.
Cricket’s presence at the Asian Games is also part of the sport’s wider international expansion ahead of its return to the Olympic programme.
