Cricket fans will have to wait until the medal stage for a potential India-Pakistan clash at the 2026 Asian Games after the tournament draw ruled out a meeting between the arch-rivals before the final or bronze-medal play-off.
India and Pakistan, the top two seeds in the men’s competition, have been placed on opposite sides of the knockout draw, meaning they cannot face each other in the quarter-finals or semi-finals.
India have been assigned to Quarter-final 2, while Pakistan will feature in Quarter-final 1, with both matches scheduled for September 28. Their respective opponents will be determined by the group-stage results.
The winners of Quarter-final 1 and Quarter-final 4 will meet in one semi-final, while the winners of Quarter-final 2 and Quarter-final 3 will contest the other on October 1.
As a result, India and Pakistan can only meet in the gold-medal match or the bronze-medal play-off, both scheduled for October 3.
The same draw format has been adopted for the women’s tournament, meaning the arch-rivals can only meet in the final or third-place match.
India are the top seeds in the women’s event, while Pakistan have been placed fourth behind Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
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India will face Japan in their quarter-final and, if they progress, could meet Bangladesh or Hong Kong, China in the semi-final.
Pakistan, meanwhile, will take on Thailand in the last-eight stage. A victory would set up a potential semi-final against Sri Lanka or Malaysia.
Therefore, an India-Pakistan women’s clash is also possible only in the final or bronze-medal match, scheduled for September 22.
The men’s competition will feature 10 teams, with India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka receiving direct entry into the quarter-finals. Afghanistan, Nepal, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Malaysia and Oman will compete for the remaining knockout spots.
The Asian Games will be held from September 19 to October 4, while the cricket competition will run from September 17 to October 3, beginning with the women’s event.
The women’s final is scheduled for September 22 before the men’s tournament takes centre stage.
All cricket matches will be played in the T20 format at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya.
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