When will India next play cricket?
India have kept their WTC Final hopes alive with a series win over Sri Lanka.
Indian cricket is heading into another hectic phase after completing the Test assignment in Sri Lanka recently. The recent series provided a few crucial moments for India as a side going through a transition, while the results kept India in contention for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 final. The focus now shifts from competitive red-ball cricket to a packed limited-overs calendar.
In the upcoming few weeks, India have several assignments lined up across formats. The team will have to balance established international players with several youngsters who will be crucial for India’s backup preparations ahead of the marquee events that follow later next year.
India’s next match: Afghanistan T20I series
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For the Indian men’s cricket team, their next international assignment is a three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, which is scheduled to be played in September.
The first T20I is scheduled for September 13, 2026, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The second match and third matches will follow on the 15th and 17th of September at the same venue.
Officially, this is a series hosted by the Afghanistan Cricket Board; however, the matches are scheduled in India due to security concerns in Afghanistan following the administrative takeover by the Taliban.
This will be an opportunity for the Indian side to fine-tune their T20I combination before future assignments. The World T20 champions lost two T20I series against Ireland and England following their triumph in the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup. This will be a golden chance for Shreyas Iyer and the men to bounce back and take control on home soil.
Asian Games 2026 and the West Indies series follow
After the Afghanistan T20I series, the Indian contingent will head to Japan for the 2026 Asian Games. The Indian men’s side enters the competition directly at the quarter-final stage, with their first match scheduled to be played on the 28th of September.
Hence, the Afghanistan series also marks the preparatory phase for the Indian T20I side before they leave for the multi-sport event in Japan. Around the same time, the West Indies will be touring India to play a three-match ODI series, beginning on 27th September.
The matches against the West Indies are scheduled for 27th September, 30th September and 3rd October, as India starts their preparation for the ICC World Cup 2027. This will be followed by a five-match T20I series starting on the 6th of October, with the next matches scheduled for the 9th, 11th, 14th and 17th of October.
On which date will India play their next match?
India will play their next match on September 13, 2026, against Afghanistan
When will India play their next Test match?
India’s next men’s Test match will begin on November 19, 2026, against New Zealand.
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Subhomoy Datta has been a sports writer since 2022. He holds a BSc in Microbiology from Rastraguru Surendranath College, WBSU, and is currently pursuing his master’s at NIT Surathkal. With a growing interest in sports journalism, he enjoys following the game closely and turning sporting moments into stories for fans.