Team Indian and Pakistan have announced strong squads for the Asian Games 2026 which will take place in Japan in September and October this year.
Published: June 10, 2026, 12:13 PM IST
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Pakistan have named Sahibzada Farhan as captain of squad for Asian Games 2026. (Photo: IANS)
Asian Games 2026: Team India have selected a powerful squad for the men’s T20 games set to take place in the Asian Games 2026 in Japan in September. A full-strength Team India side under Shreyas Iyer will take part in the Asian Games and will also feature the 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. One of the biggest reasons for choosing a strong team for Asian Games will be defeating their arch-rivals Pakistan.
But Pakistan have also announced a strong 15-member squad for the Asian Games 2026 which will take place in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan in September-October this year. Opener Sahibzada Farhan, who was Pakistan’s leading run-scorer in T20 World Cup 2026 edition, will be captain of the T20I squad in place of all-rounder Salman Ali Agha. In fact, Salman has been dropped from the T20I side for the Asian Games just like Suryakumar Yadav from India – who has been sacked and dropped from the team after T20 World Cup 2026.
Farhan has turned out in 46 T20Is for Pakistan so far but is yet to lead Pakistan in either ODI or T20I cricket. His deputy will be Abdul Samad on has five caps in T20I cricket to his name, but hasn’t represented them in the format since March last year. Samad was part of the ODI series against Australia, which Pakistan won 2-1 earlier this month.
Wicketkeeper Usman Khan, who came up with impressive performances in the T20 World Cup 2026 this year, is the only other Pakistan cricketer retained for the Asian Games 2026 squad apart from skipper Sahibzada Farhan. Their star cricketers Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Shadab Khan are some of the top players to be dropped for Asian Games campaign.
Also Read | Shreyas Iyer takes charge as new CAPTAIN of Indian team, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi creates HISTORY
Farhan was embroiled in controversy after their ‘gun celebration’ mocking Team India after the Pahalgam terrorist attack last year. He also came up with a controversial documentary centred about sixes he had managed to hit off Jasprit Bumrah in the Asia Cup 2025 tournament.
Pakistan lost to Team India thrice in the Asia Cup 2025 as Suryakumar Yadav’s side won the title. They also lost to the Indian side in the T20 World Cup 2026 match in Colombo earlier this year.
Cricket has been part of the Asian Games thrice (2010, 2014, 2022). Pakistan finished fourth in the 2022 edition (held in 2023), winning one game and losing two.
Sahibzada Farhan to captain as Pakistan announce their squad for this year’s Asian Games
Details https://t.co/CoPUXBYsPS
— ICC (@ICC) June 10, 2026
Pakistan squad for Asian Games 2026 Japan: Sahibzada Farhan (c), Abdul Samad (vc), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufyan Moqim and Usman Khan (wk)
India squad for the 2026 Asian Games: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
