Bihar-born Abhishek Anand's 'don't underestimate' goes viral

A video has gone viral on social media platforms where a Bihar-born player has given a special message to the Indian side ahead of their one-off warm-up clash against Japan, which is scheduled to take place on September 22 at the Sano International Cricket Stadium in Kanto.

It’s not the first time an Indian-born player has been featuring for another national side. There are several players around the world, including the renowned ones, who have played for other international sides and have done really well with both the bat and ball in hand.

IIT Kanpur Alum and Bihar-born Abhishek Anand sends bold warning to India ahead of Asian Games clash

Abhishek is a Patna-born, IIT Kanpur graduate, successfully making the transition from a corporate professional to playing for the Japan side. He moved to Japan in 2022 after getting a corporate job during campus placements in Kanpur, where he was also the captain of their cricket team.

Watch Abhishek Anand's view here-

Having transitioned to professional cricket, Anand continued his passion for the sport by performing well for the Tokyo Falcons Cricket Club and in the domestic league of Japan.

“Why are you underestimating? Why can’t a Bihari play for the Japan side? My house is in Rohtas district. Being a Bihari, I always have the desire to play cricket, and when I came to Japan for the very first time to search for jobs, I started playing club cricket and was selected for the national side.” Anand said in a viral video.

Anand smashed 275 runs in 18 innings of the T20Is at an average of 16.17 and a strike rate of 112.70 with the help of one half-century, having made his debut in the format last year against the Cook Islands at Sano. With the ball, he has one wicket at an economy rate of 2.60.

India to take on Japan in a warm-up clash before the Asian Games 2026 cricket quarter-finals

India and Japan will face each other for a historic one-off T20I on September 22 under the Suzuki Cup banner to celebrate 75 years of India-Japan diplomatic relations. It will also be a vital warm-up clash for the blue brigade before the Asian Games 2026.

Japan’s squad: Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (c), Charlie Hara-Hinze, Benjamin Ito-Davis, Alester Kadowaki-Fleming, Kohei Kubota, Jake Kusuda-Nairn, Wataru Miyauchi (wk), Reo Sakurano-Thomas, Alex Shirai-Patmore (wk), Shoma Sugaya-Slater, Declan Suzuki-McComb, Tsuyoshi Takada, Ibrahim Takahashi, Makoto Taniyama, Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake

India squad: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Vipraj Nigam, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Thakur, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.