Kadowaki-Fleming Leads Japan Squad For The India T20I In Sano

Japan have named 15 players for their first men's T20I against India. Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming captains the Japan squad for the India T20I at Sano on 22 September. The same 15 go to the Asian Games, which begin two days later.

The match is being staged as the Suzuki Cup. It marks 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Japan. Sano lies in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo. The ICC ranks India first among men's T20I sides and lists them as the reigning T20 World Cup champions.

The 15 players named

• Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (captain)
• Charlie Hara-Hinze
• Benjamin Ito-Davis
• Alester Kadowaki-Fleming
• Kohei Kubota
• Jake Kusuda-Nairn
• Wataru Miyauchi (wk)
• Reo Sakurano-Thomas
• Alex Shirai-Patmore (wk)
• Shoma Sugaya-Slater
• Declan Suzuki-McComb
• Tsuyoshi Takada
• Ibrahim Takahashi
• Makoto Taniyama
• Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake

Sano hosts the Suzuki Cup

The ICC traces the fixture to a “Sport 75” initiative agreed at an India-Japan diplomatic summit. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia called it “an important step in cricket's expansion into new territories” that would “connect the sport with a new audience in Japan”.

Asian Games follow two days later

Japan face Hong Kong on 19 and 20 September first. The Asian Games cricket competition begins on 24 September. Japan are drawn with Afghanistan and Nepal. They need a top-two finish in that group to reach the quarter-finals.

One group of players covers all of it. Three fixtures come inside four days. That settles Japan's personnel to the end of September.

Selection notes

Kadowaki-Fleming is Japan's all-time leading T20I run-scorer. Makoto Taniyama is the leading wicket-taker across Japan's competitions. Jake Kusuda-Nairn comes in on the back of domestic form.

Tsuyoshi Takada returns after a long absence. He last appeared for Japan at the 2013 East Asia-Pacific Championship. Wataru Miyauchi and Alex Shirai-Patmore are the two wicketkeepers in the party.