Bangladesh’s men’s cricket team have secured direct entry into the knockout stage of the 2026 Asian Games, while the women’s side will face China in the quarter-finals after the tournament draw was announced on Thursday.
The Asian Games cricket competition will take place in Nagoya, Japan, with all matches played in the T20 format.
Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka received byes into the men’s knockout stage based on their rankings. Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal and Oman will compete in the opening round for the remaining four quarter-final places.
The men’s tournament will run from September 24 to October 1. Group A features Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal, while Group B includes Hong Kong, Malaysia and Oman. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage.
The women’s tournament will begin earlier, running from September 17 to 22 with eight participating teams.
Bangladesh will meet China in one of the quarter-finals. The other fixtures pit India against Japan, Sri Lanka against Malaysia and Pakistan against Thailand.
India enter the tournament as defending champions in both competitions after winning double gold at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
India claimed the men’s title after the rain-affected final against Afghanistan was abandoned, with the gold medal awarded because India were the higher-seeded side. The Indian women also lifted gold after defeating Sri Lanka by 19 runs in the final.
