India and Pakistan meet in the cricket gold medal match of the Asian Games 2026 on Saturday, October 3, at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan. The match starts at 10:00 AM IST, with the toss at 9:30 AM IST. Faisal Afridi and Gazi Sohel are the on-field umpires, and Farooq Khan is the third umpire.
This is the first time India and Pakistan will face each other in an Asian Games final. India are the defending champions after winning gold in 2022, while Pakistan are playing their first Asian Games cricket final. Here is the full list of match officials, commentators and broadcast details for today’s game.
IND vs PAK Gold Medal Match: Match Details
| Match | India vs Pakistan, Gold Medal Match |
| Tournament | Asian Games 2026 (Men’s Cricket) |
| Format | T20 |
| Date | Saturday, October 3, 2026 |
| Toss | 9:30 AM IST |
| Match time | 10:00 AM IST / 1:30 PM local / 4:30 AM GMT |
| Venue | Korogi Sports Park, Nisshin, Japan |
| India captain | Shreyas Iyer |
| Pakistan captain | Sahibzada Farhan |
IND vs PAK Asian Games 2026 Final: List of Umpires
| Role | Official |
|---|---|
| On-field umpire | Faisal Afridi |
| On-field umpire | Gazi Sohel |
| Third umpire | Farooq Khan |
| Match referee | To be confirmed |
Faisal Afridi
Faisal Afridi is a Pakistani umpire and a former first-class cricketer who played 53 first-class matches between 1998 and 2008. He joined the ICC International Panel of Umpires in October 2021 and made his T20I debut in September 2022 in a Pakistan vs England match. He has officiated more than 20 men’s T20Is.
Gazi Sohel
Gazi Sohel is one of Bangladesh’s most experienced international umpires. He was named to the ICC International Panel of Umpires in November 2018 and has stood in more than 40 men’s T20Is and over a dozen ODIs. He officiated at the 2022 Asia Cup and was among the match officials for the 2024 Under-19 World Cup.
Farooq Khan
Farooq Khan will handle the TV umpire duties, including run-out, stumping and DRS-related decisions from the third umpire’s room.
IND vs PAK Gold Medal Match: List of Commentators
Sony Sports Network has named the following commentary panel for men’s cricket at the Asian Games 2026. The final will feature commentators from this group.
| Commentator | Background |
|---|---|
| Sanjay Manjrekar | Former India batter |
| Ajay Jadeja | Former India batter |
| Maninder Singh | Former India spinner |
| WV Raman | Former India opener and coach |
| Vivek Razdan | Former India fast bowler |
| Raman Bhanot | Commentator |
| Suhail Chandok | Presenter |
| Samir Kochhar | Presenter |
| Atish Thukral | Presenter |
IND vs PAK Live Telecast and Streaming
| TV channel (India) | Sony Sports Network |
| Live streaming (India) | SonyLIV |
India vs Pakistan Squads
India Squad
Sanju Samson (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Thakur, Vipraj Nigam
Support staff: VVS Laxman, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Sunil Joshi, Subhadeep Ghosh
Pakistan Squad
Sahibzada Farhan (c), Usman Khan (wk), Maaz Sadaqat, Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz, Abdul Samad, Arafat Minhas, Ahmed Daniyal, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Abrar Ahmed, Sufyan Moqim, Saad Masood, Ali Raza, Akif Javed, Haider Ali
Support staff: Mike Hesson, Asad Shafiq, Ashley Noffke, Shane McDermott
Road to the Final
India reached the gold medal match with a 124-run win over Sri Lanka in the second semi-final. Batting first, India posted 169/7, with Ishan Kishan scoring an unbeaten 80 off 46 balls, and then bowled Sri Lanka out for 45.
Pakistan beat Bangladesh by six wickets in a rain-affected semi-final that was reduced to 13 overs per side.
IND vs PAK Head-to-Head in T20Is
| Matches | India won | Pakistan won |
|---|---|---|
| 17 | 14 | 3 |
India go into the final as favourites with a strong record against Pakistan in the shortest format. Rain has been a concern in Nisshin during the tournament, so weather could also play a part in the gold medal match.
