India vs Japan T20I: Date, venue, Japan squad and everything you need to know

NEW DELHI: Japan will face India in a historic men's T20I on September 22 at the Sano International Cricket Ground. India are the ICC Men's T20 World Cup champions and the No. 1 ranked side. Japan have already announced the squad that will take on India.The match will be Japan's first step in their preparation for the Asian Games in Nagoya, which begin two days later.Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming to lead JapanJapan's all-time leading T20I run-scorer Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming will lead the team. Ibrahim Takahashi and Declan Suzuki-McComb are the other two players in the squad who have played more than 50 T20Is.The squad is the same group that Japan have picked for their Asian Games campaign.Japan have left out players who are eligible to play T20Is under ICC rules but cannot play at the Asian Games under its rules.This has opened the door for emerging spin-bowling all-rounder Jake Kusuda-Nairn, who impressed in domestic cricket.Spinner Tsuyoshi Takada also returns to the squad. He first played for Japan at the ICC East Asia-Pacific Twenty20 Championship in 2013.India vs Japan T20I: All you need to knowMatch: India vs Japan, Men's T20IDate: September 22Venue: Sano International Cricket GroundTwo players with Japanese school cricket linksThe squad includes Wataru Miyauchi and Makoto Taniyama, who studied at Japanese schools with cricket Bukatsu programs. Taniyama is a leg-spinner who developed his bowling action by watching Shane Warne videos on YouTube.He wears shirt number 23 in honour of the Australian great and is Japan's leading wicket-taker across pathway and international competitions.Charlie Hara-Hinze, who was part of Japan's U19 Cricket World Cup team that beat Tanzania, has also been included.Spinner Benjamin Ito-Davis is back after his East-Asia Pacific T20 World Cup 2028 Sub-Regional Qualifier campaign was cut short by a hand injury.Japan still alive in 2028 T20 World Cup raceJapan finished second in the East-Asia Pacific T20 World Cup 2028 Sub-Regional Qualifier.They remain in the race for qualification after finishing level on points with Papua New Guinea. Japan were edged on net run rate despite beating the Barramundis on the final day.Match part of ‘Sport 75’ initiativeThe India-Japan match is the first step of “Sport 75”, an initiative that aims to promote human exchanges and cooperation between India and Japan through sport.The initiative comes from an agreement reached during a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The agreement also took note of India's ambition to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036.Japan's schedule around the India matchJapan will play two T20Is against Hong Kong on September 19 and 20, before facing India on September 22.At the Asian Games, Japan will play Afghanistan on September 24 and Nepal on September 26.Japan need to finish in the top two to progress to the quarter-finals.Japan squadKendel Kadowaki-Fleming (c), Charlie Hara-Hinze, Benjamin Ito-Davis, Alester Kadowaki-Fleming, Kohei Kubota, Jake Kusuda-Nairn, Wataru Miyauchi (wk), Reo Sakurano-Thomas, Alex Shirai-Patmore (wk), Shoma Sugaya-Slater, Declan Suzuki-McComb, Tsuyoshi Takada, Ibrahim Takahashi, Makoto Taniyama, Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.