India men's team takes bullet train to Nagoya, arrives in style for Asian Games
Team India has arrived in Nagoya, and they did so in typically Japanese fashion. The Indian men's cricket team travelled from Tokyo to Nagoya by the Nozomi Shinkansen on Saturday, September 26, as they began their preparations for their Asian Games 2026 campaign. The squad boarded one of Japan's fastest bullet train services for the journey ahead of their quarter-final against Afghanistan.
The official Instagram account of the Indian cricket team shared a glimpse of the journey, with several members of the squad seen relaxing and enjoying the ride. "Tokyo Nagoya at bullet speed Good vibes only as #TeamIndia have arrived for the #AsianGames 2026," the team wrote in the caption.
The Nozomi Shinkansen operates on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines, connecting Tokyo with Nagoya and several other major cities. The choice of travel was also part of the team's pre-planned arrangements, with the Indian team having earlier considered accommodation options in Tokyo and Osaka, both around one and a half hours from Nagoya by bullet train.
Now in Nagoya, the Shreyas Iyer-led side will turn its attention to the business end of the tournament. India will face Afghanistan in the men's cricket quarter-final at Nisshin on Monday, September 28. The match will begin at 10:30 AM IST.
India, one of the four seeded teams in the competition, entered the tournament directly in the quarter-finals along with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The remaining six teams were divided into two groups, with the top two from each group progressing to the last eight.
Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal were placed in Group A, while Hong Kong China, Malaysia and Oman formed Group B. The men's cricket competition is being held from September 24 to October 3 and features 10 teams.
India will be aiming to retain the gold medal they won in Hangzhou in 2023. Cricket is making its fourth appearance at the Asian Games, having previously featured at Guangzhou 2010, Incheon 2014 and Hangzhou 2023.
The 2026 Asian Games are being held across Aichi Prefecture from September 19 to October 4. India's women's cricket team has already defended their gold medal in the current edition. On September 22, India defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin.
India posted 216/3 in 20 overs, the highest team total in women's cricket at the Asian Games, before bowling Sri Lanka out for 69 in 15.4 overs.
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shreyas Iyer (C), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yash Thakur.- Ends
