VVS Laxman To Lead India At Asian Games 2026 As Gautam Gambhir Stays Back For West Indies Series

VVS Laxman will take charge of the Indian men’s cricket team at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, as regular head coach Gautam Gambhir remains with the senior side for its home ODI series against the West Indies.

The Sports Ministry’s list of coaches and support staff for the Games has confirmed Laxman as the men’s head coach. The former India batter, who is currently the Director of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy, is no stranger to the role, having guided India to the men’s gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Laxman will have Sunil Joshi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Subhadeep Ghosh alongside him in the coaching setup. Maroof Fajandar has been appointed as the team leader.

The change in leadership is primarily due to a clash in schedules. India’s three-match ODI series against the West Indies begins on September 27, while the cricket competition at the Asian Games gets underway on September 24. Gambhir will therefore stay with the senior team instead of travelling to Japan.

India are among the four teams that have been seeded directly into the quarter-finals of the men’s competition. Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are the other seeded sides.

The remaining teams will have to negotiate the group stage, with Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal placed in Group A, and Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Oman drawn in Group B.

The top two sides from each group will join the four seeded teams in the quarter-finals. India’s first match will be against the second-placed team from Group A.

The Indian team will head into the tournament as defending champions. Cricket returned to the Asian Games at Hangzhou 2023, where India made its debut in the event and won the men’s gold medal. India had not competed in the previous two editions in which cricket was included.

Laxman has also stepped in as India’s interim head coach on several occasions in recent years. His previous assignments included T20I series involving Australia, South Africa, Ireland and Zimbabwe.

Asian Games 2026 Cricket Schedule

Shreyas Iyer will lead India in the Asian Games, with Tilak Varma named his deputy. The squad also features young batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and experienced fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.

The women’s team, meanwhile, will continue under head coach Amol Muzumdar. Bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi and fielding coach Munish Bali will be part of his support staff.

India’s women have also been handed direct entry into the quarter-finals and will face hosts Japan in their opening match. The women’s team won gold at Hangzhou 2023, when Hrishikesh Kanitkar was in charge.

The Asian Games will be held from September 19 to October 4, with the cricket competition scheduled between September 24 and October 3. The tournament will feature 10 teams and mark cricket’s fourth appearance at the Asian Games.

India Asian Games 2026 Men's Cricket Squad

India Men’s squad: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.