The Japanese men’s national cricket team is currently touring Sri Lanka as part of their preparations for the upcoming Asia-Pacific qualifiers for the ICC T20 World Cup.
The tour is expected to feature a Sri Lankan side composed of a blend of emerging talent and under-19 players, providing both exposure and valuable match experience.
Scheduled to take place from August 2nd to 10th, the tour includes a total of seven T20 matches. Five of these games will be played in Maggona, while the remaining two are set to be held in Colombo.
The Asia-Pacific regional qualifiers for the T20 World Cup are scheduled to take place in Oman from October 8th to 17th this year. Japan is among the nine teams competing in Group ‘B’ during the preliminary round, alongside nations such as Kuwait and Nepal.
Looking ahead, the next ICC T20 World Cup is slated to be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India in February and March 2026.
Japan is currently ranked 43rd in the ICC Men’s T20I rankings. Notably, in 2023, the Sri Lanka Emerging Cricket Team toured Japan and secured a convincing 4-0 series victory, with one match being abandoned due to weather conditions.
