United News of Bangladesh

Cricket powerhouses India and Pakistan reached the Asian Games semifinals without playing a match after rain forced the cancellation of their quarterfinal games on Monday. Defending champions India advanced at the expense of Afghanistan, while Pakistan moved on after their match against Hong Kong was also washed out. The results were decided according to the teams’ world rankings. India, led by Shreyas Iyer and featuring fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and 15-year-old batting prospect Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, are yet to play an official match in the tournament. They did, however, beat Japan in a warm-up game last week. India are the back-to-back T20 World Cup champions and play in the Indian Premier League, the richest cricket league in the world. The Asian Games is being played in the Twenty20 format, which will also feature at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. India will face either Sri Lanka or Nepal in the semifinals, while Pakistan will take on either Bangladesh or Malaysia. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were seeded for the tournament and entered the competition directly at the quarterfinal stage.