The Indian cricket team will face Afghanistan in a three match T20I series beginning on September 13. Following the series, Shreyas Iyer and his teammates will travel to Japan for the 2026 Asian Games.

The men’s cricket competition at the Asian Games is set to start on September 24, with the bronze medal and gold medal matches scheduled for October 3. India will arrive as the defending champions after winning the gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have been given seeded status and will begin their campaigns directly from the quarter finals.

When all rounder Shivam Dube was asked whether the Afghanistan series would serve as preparation for the Asian Games, he described the matches as a major challenge for the Indian side.

Dube said India would not approach the Afghanistan series specifically as preparation for the Asian Games. He explained that every series played for the national team has to be treated seriously rather than being viewed only as practice for a future assignment. He added that facing Afghanistan would be a significant challenge and that India would aim to win the series.

Meanwhile, BCCI vice president Rajiv Shukla said the Indian cricketers participating in the Asian Games will stay in accommodation arranged by the event organisers. He confirmed that the facilities will not be five star hotels like those the players generally use during overseas tours, but said the accommodation is expected to be comfortable.

Shukla said the BCCI has received photographs and videos of the accommodation and is monitoring the arrangements to ensure the players have suitable facilities.

He also explained that staying at the designated accommodation was considered more practical than housing the players in Osaka or Tokyo, which would have required them to travel much farther.