The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) signalled their choice for the country’s next T20I captain ahead of Asian Games 2026 action. An official BCCI release listed their squad for the September-slated regional tournament and named Shreyas Iyer as team captain.
The young middle-order batter will receive support from fellow youngster Tilak Varma as vice-captain during India’s berth at these games. Iyer’s announcement signals the BCCI’s time-tested decisions to remove T20I captains after a series of successes.
Sports pundits expect Iyer to become the substantive 20-over captain ahead of Suryakumar Yadav after this competition.
Has India Ever Won Gold in Cricket at the Asian Games?
Team India clinched Gold at the Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou, China after missing out on previous occasions.
2022 Asian Games Gold Medal List for Team India
Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Jitesh Sharma, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rinku Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Rahul Tripathi, Ravi Bishnoi, Sai Kishore, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Avesh Khan, Tilak Varma, and Prabhsimran Singh
Five Players Retain Asian Games Spot Ahead of 2026 Edition
A handful of players from the triumphant Asian Games 2022 squad for India will make a comeback in its next edition. Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, and Ravi Bishnoi are all set to return for India at the next Asian Games.
These players will deploy their wealth of experience in this competition to ensure India reclaims top spot among competing teams at the games.
Explosive IPL 2026 Orange Cap Youngster Makes India Asian Games Squad
Rajasthan Royals (RR) wonder kid Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is set to make his international debut in 2026 after making India’s Asian Games lineup. The 15-year-old prodigy wowed fans and analysts with his impressive batting performance at IPL 2026. Vaibhav clinched the coveted Orange Cap handed to outstanding batters every season with 776 runs for RR.
It is clear the BCCI has faith in this young batsman’s abilities at international level. Analysts have called for his inclusion at senior level since 2025 after announcing his arrival as a limited-overs player with high-scoring performances at franchise level. Fans, teammates, and sports pundits are set to see what Vaibhav can offer at international level.
Team India Full Squad for Asian Games 2026
Batters
| Player | Designation | Unique ability |
| Shreyas Iyer | Captain | Right-handed middle-order batter; strong against spin |
| Abhishek Sharma | Batter | Explosive left-handed opener |
| Tilak Varma | Vice-Captain | Left-handed top-order batter; fluent anchor |
| Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | Batter | Left-handed opener/top-order batter; aggressive stroke-maker |
Bowlers
| Player | Designation | Unique ability |
| Jasprit Bumrah | Bowler | Right-arm fast bowler; elite death overs specialist |
| Arshdeep Singh | Bowler | Left-arm seamer; powerplay and death-overs wicket-taker |
| Harshit Rana | Bowler | Right-arm fast bowler; hit-the-deck pace option |
| Varun Chakravarthy | Bowler | Mystery spinner; variation-based wicket-taker |
| Ravi Bishnoi | Bowler | Leg-spinner; attacking middle-overs bowler |
Wicketkeepers
| Player | Designation | Unique ability |
| Sanju Samson | Wicketkeeper | Clean hitter; top-order wicketkeeper-batter |
| Ishan Kishan | Wicketkeeper | Left-handed wicketkeeper-batter; aggressive opener |
All-Rounders
| Player | Designation | Unique ability |
| Shivam Dube | All-rounder | Power-hitting middle-order batter; medium-pace option |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | All-rounder | Seam-bowling all-rounder; flexible batting role |
| Axar Patel | All-rounder | Left-arm spin all-rounder; lower-order batting depth |
| Washington Sundar | All-rounder | Off-spin all-rounder; controlled powerplay bowler |
Hong Kong, Oman, Malaysia, Nepal Gunning for Asian Games 2026
Four (4) teams are set to jostle for the remaining slot at the Asian Games 2026 cricket category in knockout games from June 7, 2026. Hong Kong, Oman, Malaysia, and Nepal qualified for the Asian Games Men’s Qualifiers semi-finals and will lock horns for a chance to secure a berth.
Other teams like China, Bahrain, and Singapore crashed out early in the head-to-head phase of qualifying.
| Date | Match | Group/Stage | Teams | Result |
| 31 May 2026 | 1st Match | Group A | Nepal vs China | Nepal won by 221 runs |
| 1 Jun 2026 | 2nd Match | Group B | Oman vs Singapore | Oman won by 7 runs (DLS method) |
| 1 Jun 2026 | 3rd Match | Group B | Bahrain vs Hong Kong | Hong Kong won by 8 wickets |
| 2 Jun 2026 | 4th Match | Group A | China vs Malaysia | Malaysia won by 9 wickets |
| 3 Jun 2026 | 5th Match | Group B | Oman vs Bahrain | Oman won by 20 runs |
| 3 Jun 2026 | 6th Match | Group B | Singapore vs Hong Kong | Hong Kong won by 9 wickets |
| 4 Jun 2026 | 7th Match | Group A | Nepal vs Malaysia | Nepal won by 167 runs |
| 5 Jun 2026 | 8th Match | Group B | Bahrain vs Singapore | Bahrain won by 2 runs |
| 5 Jun 2026 | 9th Match | Group B | Hong Kong vs Oman | Hong Kong won by 154 runs |
| 7 Jun 2026 | 1st S-final | Knockout | Nepal vs Oman | |
| 7 Jun 2026 | 2nd S-final | Knockout | Hong Kong vs Malaysia | |
| 8 Jun 2026 | 3rd Place | Knockout | TBA vs TBA | |
| 8 Jun 2026 | Final | Knockout | TBA vs TBA |
