Asian Games cricket: Pakistan women face Thailand on 17 September

Pakistan's women play Thailand in the Asian Games quarter-finals on 17 September, two days before the Games formally open in Japan. The men, led by Sahibzada Farhan, are seeded straight into the quarter-finals on 28 September. Both events are T20.

The dates that matter

Matches are at the Nisshin Cricket Ground in Korogi Sports Park, Nagoya. Japan is four hours ahead of Pakistan, so an afternoon start in Nagoya lands in late morning or around midday in Lahore and Karachi.

Women: a medal defence of sorts

Pakistan won women's gold at the 2010 and 2014 Games and finished fourth in Hangzhou. The draw is a straight eight-team knockout: win on 17 September and the semi-final is on 20 September, with the gold and bronze matches on 22 September.

Squad: Fatima Sana (captain), Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Eman Naseer, Eyman Fatima, Gull Feroza, Humna Bilal, Momina Riasat, Muneeba Ali (wk), Nashra Sandhu, Saira Jabeen, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Tasmia Rubab, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani.

The team flew to Japan from Dubai on 14 September without Muneeba Ali, who stayed back because of her mother's illness, according to a PCB update reported by Express Tribune. No replacement had been named at the time.

Men: a young side with four uncapped players

This is not the senior T20I team. The PCB picked a 15-member squad in June with Sahibzada Farhan as captain, fresh from a record 383 runs at the T20 World Cup, and Abdul Samad as vice-captain. Four players have yet to play a T20I.

Squad: Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdul Samad (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufyan Moqim, Usman Khan.

Ten teams take part. Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal and Oman play two groups of three, with the top two from each moving on. India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh are seeded into the quarter-finals, and the draw keeps India and Pakistan apart until the semi-finals at the earliest.

Unfinished business from Hangzhou

Pakistan's men took bronze in 2010 and skipped the 2014 event. In Hangzhou in 2023 they lost the bronze-medal match to Bangladesh by 6 wickets in a rain-cut, five-overs-a-side game decided off the last ball. A medal in Nagoya would be their first since 2010.

Where to watch

As of 15 September no Pakistani broadcaster had been announced for the cricket. We will add channel and app details when they are confirmed.

What it means for the senior side

Farhan, Saim Ayub, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan and Salman Mirza were all in the 2026 T20 World Cup squad. Days after the Games, the senior side hosts Sri Lanka for three T20Is in Rawalpindi on 9, 11 and 13 October. See Pakistan's full record on our T20 World Cup page.

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