Asian Games 2026: India's cricket fixtures set for early starts
What's the story
The start times for some of the men's cricket knockout matches at the upcoming Asian Games 2026 have been changed. The decision comes as part of a revised schedule, which sees afternoon matches starting half an hour earlier than originally planned, as per Cricbuzz. The change means these games will now begin at 1:30pm local time instead of the previously announced 2pm. However, no changes have been made to women's match timings.
Match schedule
Changes affect these key matches
The Indian men's cricket team, captained by Shreyas Iyer, has directly qualified for the quarter-finals of the Aichi-Nagoya Games 2026.
Their first match will be played at 1:30pm local time (10pm IST). This is in accordance with the revised schedule that pushes afternoon matches forward by half an hour.
The same timing applies to both the second semi-final and gold-medal match.
Communication gap
Uncertainty prevails for IOA officials
Despite the changes being reflected on the official website, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) officials say they are unaware of these adjustments.
The changes specifically apply to India's second quarter-final match on September 28, likely semi-final on October 1, and gold-medal match on October 3.
Other preliminary-round matches involving Afghanistan, Japan, Nepal, Hong Kong (China), Malaysia, and Oman remain unaffected by this schedule change.
Reasoning
Reason behind the change
The decision to advance match timings was made due to Japan's early sunset. The absence of lights at the venue also contributed to this decision, especially considering that men's matches tend to be longer.
India's T20I against Japan, which is not part of the Games schedule, will take place on September 22 at Sano International Stadium at 1pm JST (9:30am IST).