The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is eager to include cricket at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan and is considering converting a baseball stadium in Nagoya for this purpose.
Cricket administrators consider multi-sport events like the Asian Games as an opportunity to revitalize the sport, which will return to the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 after a 128-year absence. Cricket featured in the Hangzhou Games in China last year, but wasn't part of the 2018 Games in Jakarta and Palembang in Indonesia.
"We are still working on the sports programme for the 2026 Games but yes, we would want cricket to be part of it," OCA acting president Randhir Singh told Reuters. The lack of cricket facilities in Japan, however, remains an issue.
The Japan Cricket Association (JCA) has proposed an international stadium in Tochigi prefecture, north of Tokyo, but the OCA would prefer a facility in or near Nagoya, the capital of Aichi prefecture, where the Games will be held. The Tochigi stadium would be a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Nagoya, according to OCA Deputy Director General Vinod Kumar Tiwari, who visited Japan last month with an OCA coordination delegation to monitor preparations.
"We are working with the Asian Cricket Council on this," Tiwari said. The programme for the 2026 Games will be finalized at an OCA General Assembly in April.
