New Delhi, Sept 7: The historic one-off T20 International between India and Japan later this month will mark a significant step in cricket’s journey towards becoming a truly global sport by taking the game to a new audience, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said on Monday.
India and Japan will face each other for the first time in a T20I on September 22 at the Sano International Cricket Ground in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. The match, being played under the banner of the Suzuki Cup, will also commemorate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Japan.
The fixture comes ahead of the men’s cricket competition at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, which begins on September 19.
Saikia said the match reflected the efforts of ICC chairman Jay Shah to expand cricket’s reach to new territories.
“Cricket’s global journey is being shaped by moments that take the game beyond its traditional boundaries. The India-Japan T20I match on 22nd September, ’26 is one such moment taking international cricket to Japan, connecting with a new audience and strengthening the game’s presence in a region with immense potential,” Saikia said in a post on X.
He said the initiative also highlighted the vision of Shah, both during his tenure as BCCI secretary and now as ICC chairman, to place the global expansion of cricket at the centre of the sport’s future.
Saikia added that the BCCI remained committed to helping cricket expand beyond its traditional markets.
“India-Japan is more than a cricket match. It represents the direction in which our sport is moving from a global ambition to a global reality,” he said.
India, ranked No. 1 in the ICC T20 rankings, are the reigning T20 World Cup champions, while Japan are currently ranked 41st.
The match will also provide the Indian team with an opportunity to acclimatise to Japanese conditions and gain valuable match practice ahead of the Asian Games. The team will look to fine-tune combinations and build momentum before beginning its campaign.
India have been seeded directly into the knockout stage and will enter the Asian Games competition in the quarterfinals on September 28.
Shreyas Iyer will lead the Indian side, with vice-captain Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson and teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi among the key players in the squad.
