Asian Games 2026: Rain expected as India takes on Afghanistan in alien conditions of Nagoya

With an almost full-strength team, India is firm favourite to retain its Asian Games gold medal, but Shreyas Iyer insisted on being cautious. | Photo Credit: AFP

The rains in Nagoya continued for the second day and threaten to affect India’s Monday’s quarterfinal against Afghanistan as the men’s cricket team got a feel of the ground conditions with its only training session on Sunday.

The Korogi Sports Park that also hosted the women’s competition is a modified baseball field and the hybrid pitch and outfield got positive feedback from the women. The men, coming after a one-off, five-over match against Japan in Sano, have had little time to acclimatise to Nagoya while Afghanistan has already played two matches.

The continued rain also marred the team’s attempts to have a full intensity training. Captain Shreyas Iyer, however, refused to dwell on the conditions or the facilities.

“Yes, it’s raining but we cannot give that as a reason because we are a bunch of professionals. Such hurdles will keep coming and mentally we have to be prepared, irrespective of whatever the situation is going to be. We got a decent warm-up and a little knocking. Tomorrow, we will try to adapt as soon as possible to the wickets and see how the weather is. The important thing is to come and play the match,” Iyer said on the eve of the match.

Also read | Full list of squads for men’s cricket

Afghanistan lost a three-match T20I series 3-0 two weeks ago in New Delhi but the team here is very different and inexperienced. In fact, with an almost full-strength team, India is firm favourite to retain its Asian Games gold medal here, but Iyer insisted on being cautious.

“Not only Afghanistan, but Japan also gave us a very good competition. The wicket here cannot be set in a particular standard. But it is very important to adapt. It will be challenging for every team,” he said.

“Today when we woke up, we thought we would be getting a little bit of practice. We knew we would be playing on turf but as soon as we arrived, the rain started again. We were able to maximise a bit in terms of our warm-up and the bowlers did some strides in the background in the outfield and bowled a couple of overs,” he added.

With the Games entering the business end of competition, Iyer also hoped to be able to catch action from other sports. “Like today, we know that an 18-year-old prodigy is playing a squash game, so we wanted to see that. But due to practice, we couldn’t go. Our support is for every individual who is representing the country,” he said.

Published on Sep 27, 2026

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