Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], September 26 (ANI): The Indian men's cricket team arrived in Nagoya on Saturday ahead of their Asian Games 2026 quarter-final clash against Afghanistan, with the Shreyas Iyer-led side beginning its campaign as it looks to defend the gold medal won at the previous edition in Hangzhou.

India will face Afghanistan in the quarter-final on Monday, September 28, with the match scheduled to begin at 10:30 am IST.

The Indian squad features several established international players, with T20 captain Iyer leading the side. The team also includes Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur.

Former India cricketer VVS Laxman is the head coach of the team for the Asian Games campaign.

India are entering the competition with the aim of retaining the gold medal they won in Hangzhou in 2023. On that occasion, India defeated Afghanistan for the gold after the final was washed out, with the higher-seeded Indian side awarded the title. The team was led by Ruturaj Gaikwad.

The men's cricket competition at the Aichi-Nagoya Games has entered the knockout stage following the completion of the first round.

Afghanistan and Nepal qualified for the quarter-finals from Group A after Japan's match against Nepal was abandoned due to rain. Nepal topped the group, while Japan were eliminated from the competition.

Nepal will face Sri Lanka in the other quarter-final from that group on September 29.

Group B comprises Malaysia, Hong Kong and Oman, with the top two teams advancing to the quarter-finals. The two qualifiers from the group will face Pakistan and Bangladesh in the last eight.

India's women's cricket team have already completed a successful title defence at the Games, beating Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final under Harmanpreet Kaur to claim the country's first gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

The men's team will now look to replicate that success, with a strong squad that includes a number of players with international experience.

Iyer, who has led Kolkata Knight Riders to an IPL title and captained Punjab Kings to the IPL final in 2025, will be aiming to add an Asian Games gold medal to his captaincy record as India begin their knockout campaign against Afghanistan. (ANI)