The India-Pakistan rivalry will have to wait at the 2026 Asian Games, with the men’s cricket draw ensuring that the two sides cannot meet in either the quarterfinals or semifinals. This means India and Pakistan will be kept apart until the final stages of the competition.
They have both been directly seeded into the quarterfinals alongside Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. According to a report by Cricbuzz, India have been placed in Quarterfinal 2 and Pakistan in Quarterfinal 1, with both matches scheduled for September 28.
The remaining six teams will compete in the group stage for the other four quarterfinal places. Their identities will determine the opponents for India and Pakistan in the last eight, but the knockout draw has already ensured that the two rivals remain on opposite sides of the bracket.
If both teams win their quarterfinals, they will also be separated in the semifinals. The winner of Quarterfinal 2 will face the winner of Quarterfinal 3, while the winner of Quarterfinal 1 will meet the winner of Quarterfinal 4.
That leaves only two possible meetings between India and Pakistan. If both reach the final, they could face each other for the gold medal. If both lose their semifinals, the rivals could instead meet in the bronze-medal play-off. The arrangement means there will be no India-Pakistan encounter before the medal rounds, removing one of the most anticipated possibilities from the early stages of the tournament.
The women’s competition follows a similar structure, although it features eight teams rather than 10. India enter as the top seed and will face Japan in the quarterfinals, while Pakistan, seeded fourth, will take on Thailand. If India progresses, they are set to face the winner of Bangladesh and Hong Kong, China in the semifinals. Pakistan could meet either Sri Lanka or Malaysia in the other semifinal.
The women’s draw also leaves an India-Pakistan meeting possible only in the medal rounds.
Cricket will begin at the Asian Games on September 17, ahead of the wider September 19 to October 4 schedule. The women’s final is scheduled for September 22, while the men’s competition will culminate with the final on October 3. For fans hoping for another India-Pakistan contest, the message from the draw is clear: the rivalry is not off the table, but it will have to wait until the medals are at stake.
