Star pacer included after being rested from Ireland and England T20Is; Shreyas Iyer to lead title-defending side in Japan

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India have named a full-strength squad for the men’s cricket competition at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, with premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah returning to the T20I setup after being rested for the upcoming tours of Ireland and England.

Bumrah’s inclusion strengthens an otherwise familiar squad led by newly appointed T20I captain Shreyas Iyer, who will spearhead India’s campaign as they aim to defend the gold medal won at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou. Tilak Varma has been named vice-captain.

The squad features several of India’s established T20 stars, including Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakravarthy. Young batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, just 15 years old, has also earned a place and will compete for a spot at the top of the order.

Bumrah replaces Mohammed Siraj, who is part of India’s T20I squads for the Ireland and England tours. Prince Yadav, the additional member of those squads, has not been included for the Asian Games.

The cricket competition at the Asian Games will be played in the T20 format from September 24 to October 3 in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Ten nations — India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Japan, Nepal, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Oman — will compete for the gold medal.

India enter the tournament as defending champions after winning gold in Hangzhou in 2023. On that occasion, the final against Afghanistan was washed out, with India awarded the title as the higher-seeded side.

The tournament schedule includes preliminary qualifiers from September 24 to 26, quarter-finals on September 28 and 29, semi-finals on October 1, and the bronze-medal and gold-medal matches on October 3.

India’s participation in the Asian Games overlaps with their ODI series against West Indies, highlighting the importance the selectors have placed on fielding a strong squad for the continental event. With Bumrah returning to lead the pace attack and a blend of experienced internationals and exciting young talent in the squad, India will once again start among the favourites to claim the gold medal.

India Men’s Squad for Asian Games 2026: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Jasprit Bumrah.e55