The last time cricket featured in a major multi-sport event was at the
1998 Commonwealth Games held in
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia. The gold medal was won on that occasion by
South Africa, who defeated
Australia by 4 wickets in the final with
New Zealand winning the bronze medal. At a general meeting of the
Olympic Council of Asia, held in
Kuwait on 17 April 2007, it was announced that
cricket would be included as a medal sport in the
2010 Asian Games to be held in
Guangzhou. Matches would be played on a
Twenty20, 20-overs per side format. Following the announcement,
Asian Cricket Council Chief Executive
Syed Ashraful Huq said "Cricket will receive a major boost across Asia and in particular China, as a result of this enlightened decision. The Asian Cricket Council pledges its support to the
Guangzhou games organizers in order to make the event a success." Asian cricketing powerhouses India and Pakistan have been the drivers behind the inclusion of cricket in the Asian Games. The Test status nations in the Asian Cricket Council,
Bangladesh,
India,
Pakistan and
Sri Lanka would compete with the initial plan that the Associate teams such as
Nepal would also be invited to play in the inaugural competition.
China will compete as the host nation which serves as a boost for the Chinese Cricket Association which has boldly stated its ambition of China becoming a force in
one-day cricket by the
2019 World Cup. The plans for including Associate nations in the Asian Games was later changed, along with the format that the competition would take place in, changing from 50 over matches to
Twenty20 matches. It was decided that the
2009 ACC Twenty20 Cup would serve as the pre-tournament qualifying competition.
Afghanistan qualified as winners of the tournament along with the national teams of
Oman and the
United Arab Emirates. Cricket was not held in
2018 Asian Games but in 2019, during
Olympic Council of Asia's General Assembly it was decided the return of the sport in the
2022 Asian Games, which will be held in
Hangzhou,
China. The inclusion of
cricket in
2026 Asian Games in
Aichi and
Nagoya was announced in April 2025. The
Asian Cricket Council pushed for the bid and
OCA President
Randhir Singh was hopeful about it prior to decision. ==Editions==