India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh handed direct entry to Games’ knockout stage

India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have secured a direct entry into the knockout stage of the men's cricket event at the 2026 Asian Games to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The four seeded teams will be joined in the quarterfinal stage by four other teams, with the draw announced on Thursday, reports Cricbuzz.
Afghanistan headline the six teams split into two groups in the Qualifying round. The silver medalists of the 2023 edition are slotted alongside hosts Japan and Nepal in Group A, while Group B comprises Malaysia, Oman and Hong Kong, China. Each team plays the other once in their respective groups, with the top two from either group proceeding to the quarterfinals.
The women's draw will commence directly from the quarterfinal stage, with India taking on Japan and Pakistan facing Thailand. While Sri Lanka will face Malaysia, Bangladesh will square off against the People's Republic of China in the women's event.
India are the reigning gold medalists in both the men's and women's cricket events from the previous edition of the Asian Games held in 2023 in Hangzhou, China. While the women's cricket event at the 2026 Asian Games will run from September 17 to 22, the men's event will take place from September 24 to October 1.