Former India batter and BCCI Centre of Excellence Director VVS Laxman will take charge as head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, in the absence of Gautam Gambhir.

Gambhir will remain with India’s senior team as it prepares for the home ODI series against the West Indies, with the first ODI scheduled for September 27. Laxman, meanwhile, will travel with the Asian Games squad and oversee the men’s team during the tournament.

Laxman will be assisted by former India spinner Sunil Joshi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Subhadeep Ghosh. The appointment also gives Laxman another opportunity to work with India at the Asian Games after he coached the men’s team at the 2023 edition in Hangzhou, where India won the gold medal.

India aiming to defend Asian Games cricket title

The cricket competition at the 2026 Asian Games is scheduled to begin on September 24, with India’s men’s opening match set for September 28. The Indian team will enter the tournament as defending champions and will be led by Shreyas Iyer.

India’s men’s squad includes Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

India’s women’s team will also defend its Asian Games title, with Harmanpreet Kaur leading the side. Amol Muzumdar will continue as the women’s head coach, supported by bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi and fielding coach Munish Bali.

The 2026 Asian Games will be held in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19 to October 4, with cricket among the events on the programme.