India to face Japan in official BCCI jersey in one-off T20I

India will wear the official BCCI jersey when Shreyas Iyer-led India face Japan in a historic one-off T20I on Tuesday. The match will mark 75 years of India-Japan diplomatic ties and launch the broader ‘Sport 75’ bilateral initiative

New Delhi: India are set to face Japan in the one-off T20I on Tuesday in their national jersey to mark 75 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

The Shreyas Iyer-led side will don the official Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) colours for their one-off contest at the Sano International Cricket Ground, and not the Asian Games kit, sources told IANS.

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The match will be played two days before the start of the men’s cricket competition at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, where India will also be in action along with Japan and eight other teams. The kit for the Asian Games cricket event will be different, as was seen with the Indian women’s side.

The one-off contest is the first international cricket match between the two teams and is a special fixture to inaugurate celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

The fixture serves as the flagship event launching ‘Sport 75’, a broader bilateral initiative originating from a summit agreement between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, designed to foster sporting exchanges and cooperation.

Speaking about the historic game, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia highlighted the significance of the occasion.

“The BCCI is delighted to be part of this historic occasion as the Indian and Japanese men’s teams come together for a special T20 International in Japan. This is a significant moment for cricket, as it takes the Indian team to new territory and provides an opportunity to introduce the sport to a wider audience in Japan and East Asia.

“India and Japan share a strong and longstanding relationship and friendship, and we are pleased that cricket will be part of the celebrations marking 75 years of bilateral relations between the two countries, and we thank the Japan Cricket Association (JCA) for its efforts in making this fixture possible,” Saikia had said in a statement.