The Indian men’s cricket team will face Japan for the first time when the two sides meet in the historic one-off JPN vs IND T20 2026 match at the Sano International Cricket Ground on Tuesday.
The T20I match, held under the banner of the Suzuki Cup, will begin at 9:30 AM Indian Standard Time (IST) and will serve as the final tune-up for both teams ahead of the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya.
The match will also be the first event under Sport 75, an initiative aimed at promoting sporting exchanges and cooperation between India and Japan as the two countries mark 75 years of diplomatic relations.
India will arrive in Japan on the back of a 3-0 T20I series sweep of Afghanistan in New Delhi.
Shreyas Iyer will continue to captain the top-ranked T20I side, with Tilak Varma serving as his deputy. Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Yash Thakur form the pace attack while teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is also part of the squad.
India have made a few changes to the group initially picked for the Asian Games.
Varun Chakaravarthy has been ruled out of the Japan T20I and the Asian Games with a side strain, with leg-spinner Vipraj Nigam named as his replacement.
Harshit Rana had earlier been ruled out due to a thigh muscle injury, with Yash Thakur replacing him. Nitish Kumar Reddy has also been withdrawn from the Asian Games squad.
The Japan cricket team will field the same squad against India that they have selected for their Asian Games campaign.
Japan’s all-time leading T20I run-scorer Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming will captain the hosts. Ibrahim Takahashi and Declan Suzuki-McComb are the other two players in the squad with more than 50 T20I appearances.
India are the reigning T20 world champions and the No. 1-ranked team while Japan are 41st.
Where to watch Japan vs India T20 2026 live
Live streaming of the Japan vs India T20 2026 match will be available on FanCode in India. The JPN vs IND T20 Suzuki Cup will be telecast live on the Star Sports 1 TV channels in India. It will also be broadcast live on Star Sports 1 Hindi.
Suzuki Cup 2026: Japan vs India T20 2026 squads
Indian cricket team: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur, Vipraj Nigam.
Japan cricket team: Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (captain), Charlie Hara-Hinze, Benjamin Ito-Davis, Alester Kadowaki-Fleming, Kohei Kubota, Jake Kusuda-Nairn, Wataru Miyauchi (wicket-keeper), Reo Sakurano-Thomas, Alex Shirai-Patmore (wicket-keeper), Shoma Sugaya-Slater, Declan Suzuki-McComb, Tsuyoshi Takada, Ibrahim Takahashi, Makoto Taniyama, Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake.
