Cricketers to get best rooms at Asian Games 2026, says Japanese official

Cricket is simply a insignificant athletics successful Japan, but it volition supply the champion accommodation to the participating teams, the authoritative says.

Cricketers astatine this month’s Asian Games successful Japan volition person amended accommodation than athletes from galore different sports, the caput of Japanese cricket has said amid increasing concerns astir a deficiency of five-star hotels for players.

A Sri Lankan authoritative said this week that immoderate of Asia’s apical teams had raised doubts implicit facilities and accommodation astatine the games, taking spot successful Nagoya and the wider Aichi country from September 19.

Cricket is simply a insignificant athletics successful Japan, and its fixtures volition beryllium played astatine a caller purpose-built ground, with reports of tents serving arsenic dressing rooms and distant toilet facilities.

There is nary dedicated athletes’ colony astatine the games, with organisers alternatively relying connected cabins successful a cruise ship, rooms successful impermanent woody containers and hotels.

Organisers said past week that accommodation was already stretched to the bounds aft the fig of Asian Games athletes ballooned to 17,000.

The fig of athletes successful the 2024 Paris Olympics was astir 11,000.

The 20th Asian Games volition tally from September 19 to October 4 successful Nagoya, cardinal Japan [File: Issei Kato/Reuters]

The cricket tourney is being tally by the Asian Games organising committee successful collaboration with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

Japan Cricket Association CEO Naoki Alex Miyaji said the 2 bodies had been discussing accommodation options “for a agelong time”.

“The participating teams successful cricket are being offered edifice accommodation,” Miyaji said connected Wednesday.

“Many different sports are being accommodated successful overmuch much constricted facilities, specified arsenic a cruise vessel oregon instrumentality hotels.”

Matches volition beryllium played astatine Korogi Sports Park, a converted shot tract that is simply a 40-minute bid thrust from cardinal Nagoya.

Media reports successful India said the country’s cricket committee was unhappy with arrangements and mightiness nonstop a second-string squad aft primitively naming 15 players led by Shreyas Iyer and including 15-year-old rising prima Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Miyaji said the organisers “only had 17 months to hole and had to commencement from scratch” for cricket astatine the games.

He said they had been moving “to guarantee that the champion facilities are provided wrong the constricted timeline and installation restrictions”.

“Despite being temporary, the facilities volition supply arsenic comfy a abstraction arsenic imaginable for the players and officials,” helium said.

Miyaji said the pitch, which is being prepared by the curator of the 35,000-capacity Pallekele International Cricket Stadium successful Sri Lanka, would beryllium of a precocious standard.

“From what I person seen, the playing aboveground and tract volition beryllium the champion seen successful cricket’s inclusion successful the Asian Games,” helium added.