Kolkata : Forty-first ranked Japan have vowed not to be shrinking violets when they face T20 World Cup champions and No.1 ranked India at the Sano International Cricket Ground on Tuesday.
The match is a celebration of 75 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries, and a valuable hit out ahead of their respective Asian Games campaigns.
Outside of ICC pathway events and notably when Zimbabwe went through sub-regional qualifying for T20 World Cup 2026, there has never been a bigger disparity between two sides in regards to T20I rankings, though the Japanese are relishing in the thought of taking on one of cricket’s greatest ever sides.
“I can’t wait to just get out there, take on the challenge and I’m really looking forward to it,” all-rounder Benjamin Ito-Davis told ICC Digital.
“To represent Japan on the global stage and promote cricket in Japan is something I’m really honoured and proud to do.”
“As a team we want to show that we can compete against a team like India and show that Japan spirit, the Japan way, but also play in a fair and respectful way.”
Japan have also made the bold move to not select players who would be eligible to play in the match, but not be eligible under stricter Asian Games rules.
With Abhishek Anand, Esam Rahman, Abdul Samad and Sabaorish Ravichandran out, the likes of Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake, Makoto Taniyama and Wataru Miyauchi are tipped to stand up for the hosts, having all featured in the recent bilateral series against Hong Kong, China.
On a Sano surface tipped to be on the slower side, young leg-spinning all-rounder Jake Kusuda-Nairn could make his international debut against the T20 World Cup champions.
Jake can ask his sister for wisdom, with seam-bowling Elena a member of the Japanese women’s squad who faced India in their Asian Games quarter-final in Nagoya last week, with India running away with an eight-wicket win in Nagoya.
“She (Elena) just told me to take everything in and enjoy myself out there,” Jake told ICC Digital.
“I’m just going to take it one ball at a time. A couple of wickets would be nice.”
Kusuda-Nairn admits he wants the wicket of young star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, one of several players to come across Japan in youth international play.
Sooryavanshi made 23 and fell to Charlie Hara-Hinze when the sides met at the ACC U19 Asia Cup in Sharjah back in 2024, with Hara-Hinze also making 35 not out in the encounter.
The teams also played against each other in the U19 Men’s World Cup in Bloemfontein back in 2020, with India squad member Tilak Varma playing in the match alongside other full internationals of note, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel and Ravi Bishnoi.
Joint top-scorer for the bat for Japan in that match was Shu Noguchi, who faces a different challenge come Tuesday, with the 23-year-old now a key member of the venue’s groundstaff.
Six years on, Japan again featured at the U19 Cricket World Cup, beating Tanzania for their first victory of any kind at a global event in the sport.
Kusuda-Nairn says the the success of the Japan cricket program at all levels has given him purpose, and lifted the motivations of the rest of the group.
“Even from a couple of years ago, the growth has been incredible.
“The U19s doing well at the World Cup has definitely boosted Japan cricket.
“The media following, even the comments about how they love our jersey (has been positive).”
With around 3000 seats available for the fixture, tickets for the encounter were sold out within an hour.
Ito-Davis says inspiring the next generation is a goal from the encounter when play kicks off from 1:00pm local time.
“If I’m able to maybe inspire a Japanese kid to play cricket, boy or girl, to try cricket for the first time, that would be my greatest success story.”
“A chance to promote the game even more (in Japan) is my goal.
With around 3000 seats available for the fixture, tickets for the encounter were sold out within an hour.
Ito-Davis says inspiring the next generation is a goal from the encounter when play kicks off from 1:00pm local time.
“If I’m able to maybe inspire a Japanese kid to play cricket, boy or girl, to try cricket for the first time, that would be my greatest success story.”
“A chance to promote the game even more (in Japan) is my goal”, he concluded.
Japan will host India tomorrow (22nd September). India under leadership of Shreyas Iyer would eye this clash as an opportunity and practice ahead of Asian Games 2026 at Aichi-Nagoya.
