India will play Japan on 22 September, at a ground that normally holds 500 people
A T20 international nobody had on the calendar a week ago. The BCCI and the Japan Cricket Association have agreed a one-off match in Tochigi, and it came out of a Modi-Takaichi summit rather than a cricket schedule.
Sep 5, 2026
The Sano International Cricket Ground in Tochigi Prefecture normally seats about 500 people. On 22 September it will try to hold four times that number, because India are coming.
The Japan Cricket Association and the BCCI confirmed on Friday that the two men’s teams will meet in a one-off T20 international, played for something called the Suzuki Cup. It is the first time India’s men have played Japan in a T20 international. Start time is 1pm local, which is 9.30am in India.
A ground built for 500
Sano is the home of cricket in Japan in the way a village green is the home of cricket in an English county. The JCA says the venue will be “transformed” for the occasion, from a capacity of around 500 to potentially 2,000. For scale, the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, where this Indian group plays Afghanistan on 13, 15 and 17 September, holds 41,000.
That gap is the whole point of the exercise. Japan sit 41st in the men’s T20I rankings, and until this announcement there was no obvious reason a fixture between the two would ever exist. They become the 20th team India have met in a T20I.
Two prime ministers and a 2036 bid
The fixture did not come out of a cricket calendar. It came out of a summit. Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi and Narendra Modi agreed on an initiative called Sport 75, aimed at building people-to-people links between the two countries through sport, and the release notes India’s ambition to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036. The Suzuki Cup is the first thing Sport 75 has actually produced.
The 75 refers to 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Japan. Suzuki are the title partner, with Mitsui Knowledge Industry as a major partner.
“To be able to invite the reigning World Champions to the home of cricket in Japan is a landmark moment for our association,” JCA chief executive Naoki Miyaji said. He asked Japanese locals who have never seen a cricket match to come and watch.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia framed it as an obligation rather than a favour. “The BCCI believes that the growth of cricket must extend beyond its traditional territories, and as the world’s largest cricket board, we recognise our responsibility to contribute to that growth,” he said, adding that the board would keep working with the JCA beyond this one match.
Where it sits in a crowded fortnight
Japan are also hosting the Asian Games, and it would be easy to assume the Suzuki Cup is part of them. It is not. The Games cricket competitions are at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Aichi, and the men’s event there does not begin until 24 September. Sano is a separate venue in a different prefecture, on a separate date.
What it does give the touring Indian group is one more competitive fixture in a month that already has plenty. Three T20Is against Afghanistan in Delhi in the middle of September, then Japan on the 22nd, then a gold medal to defend in Aichi from the 24th. India took the men’s gold at Hangzhou in 2023 with a second-string side under Ruturaj Gaikwad, and did not have to earn it on the field: rain washed out the final against Afghanistan at 112 for 5, and the medal went to India on their superior T20 ranking. Ten teams are in the draw in Aichi, and the tournament runs to 3 October.
For Japan, the arithmetic is simpler. A T20I against India carries full international status, so whatever happens at Sano goes on the record and into the rankings. Their players get one afternoon against the reigning T20 world champions, in front of a crowd that will mostly have travelled to see the other side. Tickets go on sale through the JCA website.