India to face Japan in historic one-off T20I in Sano to celebrate 75 years of friendship

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Japan Cricket Association (JCA) have announced that their men’s teams will play a friendly T20I match to launch the celebrations of the India-Japan diplomatic relations, which have crossed 75 years in the ongoing year. 

Japan recently featured in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in Sano, where their last clash of the event in the Super Six came against Papua New Guinea, where they gained the victory by 26 runs in the 121-run defence.

India play Japan for the first time in a T20I in Suzuki Cup

The one-off T20I, named the Suzuki Cup, will take place at the Sano International Cricket Ground in Tochigi on September 22. It will be the first step towards ‘Sport 75’, which is an initiative of the agreement between the two Asian sides.

The BCCI secretary, Devajit Saikia, revealed it as a significant moment for the game, as it took the blue brigade to new territory in the game and to a wider audience in Japan and East Asia.

“The BCCI is delighted to be part of this historic occasion as the Indian and Japanese men’s teams come together for a special T20 International in Japan. This is a significant moment for cricket, as it takes the Indian team to new territory and provides an opportunity to introduce the sport to a wider audience in Japan and East Asia.” Saikia revealed in the BCCI statement.  

“India and Japan share a strong and longstanding relationship and friendship, and we are pleased that cricket will be part of the celebrations marking 75 years of bilateral relations between the two countries, and we thank the Japan Cricket Association (JCA) for its efforts in making this fixture possible.” He addressed.

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Japan Cricket’s CEO, Naoki Miyaji, also highlighted that they would be excited to be on the ground to cheer for the side on a memorable occasion against the Shreyas Iyer-led side. 

“To be able to invite the reigning World Champions to the home of cricket in Japan is a landmark moment for our association. We thank the BCCI for working with us towards this goal and greatly look forward to welcoming the passion of Indian cricket fans.” Miyaji informed.

India to begin Asian Games 2026 title defence days after the Japan T20I

Japan’s opening game of the Asian Games 2026 will be against Afghanistan on September 24 in Nisshin, while their second encounter of the event will be the group-stage contest against Nepal at the same venue on September 26.

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India’s opening game of the Asian Games will be the second quarter-final at Nisshin on September 28. The semifinals will be held on October 01 while the final will be on October 03.

India’s squad for Asian Games 2026-

Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.