Nagoya: Ground staff cover the pitch due to rain (PTI Photo)
India’s men’s cricket team advanced to the semi-finals of the 2026 Asian Games without taking the field after persistent rain forced their quarter-final against Afghanistan to be abandoned in Nisshin, Japan. India will now face the winner of the Sri Lanka-Nepal quarter-final in the semi-finals as they continue their bid to retain the gold medal they won at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou. Harmanpreet Kaur-led India defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final to claim the gold medal.
With dark clouds and steady rain keeping the covers firmly in place and conditions showing no signs of improving, the match was eventually called off without a ball being bowled, sending India through to the last four under the tournament’s knockout rules. India entered the tournament with a strong squad featuring several established international names. Shreyas Iyer is leading the side, with Tilak Varma serving as his deputy. The squad includes Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yash Thakur. The Indian women’s team has already successfully defended its Asian Games title in Aichi-Nagoya.