Cricket Diplomacy: India and Japan Set For Historic T20I In Sano To Mark 75 Years Of Ties

India will take on Japan in a special one-off men's T20I match on September 22 to commemorate 75 years of diplomatic ties between the two nations. The historic match, which is named as the “Suzuki Cup”, will be held at the Sano International Cricket Ground in Tochigi Prefecture.

BCCI Honorary Secretary, Mr Devajit Saikia, said: “The BCCI is delighted to be part of this historic occasion as the Indian and Japanese men’s teams come together for a special T20 International in Japan. This is a significant moment for cricket, as it takes the Indian team to new territory and provides an opportunity to introduce the sport to a wider audience in Japan and East Asia.

“India and Japan share a strong and longstanding relationship and friendship, and we are pleased that cricket will be part of the celebrations marking 75 years of bilateral relations between the two countries, and we thank the Japan Cricket Association (JCA) for its efforts in making this fixture possible."

This special match will be a part of the “Sport 75”, an initiative through a signed agreement during a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The sole idea of this agreement is to promote human exchanges and cooperation between India and Japan in the field of sports, given India's aim to host the Olympics and Paralympics in 2036 as it stands.

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Both India and Japan are due to feature in the upcoming Asian Games 2026. Men's cricket will start on October 24, with the quarterfinals scheduled to be held on October 28. All the matches will be played in the T20I format.

India Squad For Asian Games

Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.