Japan prepares to host India in Sano as Asian Games brings top-level cricket

Japan is about to host a stretch of top-level cricket unlike anything in its history. India, the men's Twenty20 world champions, are set to play Japan in Sano on September 22, which the Japan Cricket Association describes as the first time an associate member Japan will face an International Cricket Council full member. Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will also be in action at a repurposed baseball venue in Nisshin in September, when the Asian Games cricket competition begins.

The fortnight is the product of diplomatic manoeuvring, corporate sponsorship and years of quiet groundwork by the JCA. On a visit to India earlier this year, Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi gave his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar a cricket jersey supplied by the JCA; Jaishankar reciprocated with a bat signed by Indian cricketers. Prime Minister Sanae Takachi then met Narendra Modi in New Delhi in July, and the two leaders agreed to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations with a cricket match, dubbed the Suzuka Cup. Suzuki's backing is also cited as significant.

The scale of the sport in Japan remains small. The country has 7,300 registered players and 16 cricket grounds, and the women's T20 team is ranked 39th in the world, two rungs above the men's side. JCA chief executive Naoki Alex Miyaji said one match or competition would not change anything, and that the sport would not suddenly become as popular as baseball or football, adding that the match against India is the first page of a new era.

For anyone planning around the Games, the practical picture is thin. The JCA offered the Sano International Cricket Ground for the Asian Games competition, but local organisers opted to repurpose a baseball stadium on the outskirts of Nagoya instead, to avoid logistical issues. A Sri Lankan curator is overseeing pitch preparations in Nisshin. Beyond that, the evidence does not set out ticketing, transport or spectator arrangements, so those details should be treated as unconfirmed rather than assumed.