The Asia Cup is a popular cricket tournament that is played in both T20 and ODI formats. First held in 1984 at Sharjah, the tournament is organized by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) every two years. Three teams including India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan participated in the inaugural tournament. Since then, various Asian teams have participated in a total of 15 editions of the tournament so far. A total of six teams including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, and Hong Kong participated in the 2022 edition this year. The Asia Cup is the only continental championship in cricket and the winning team becomes the champions of Asia.
Asia cup format
The Asia Cup tournament is played in round-robin format where each country plays the rest of the teams at least once in the group stage and later at Super 4 stage. Since 2016, the tournament is played on a rotation basis between ODI and T20 format. It alternates every 2-years between ODI and T20I formats. The format is decided on the basis of the format of upcoming world events e.g. T20 World Cup or ICC Cricket world cup.
Most successful teams in Asia Cup
| Team | Title Wins | Title Year |
|---|---|---|
| India | 7 | 1984, 1988, 1990–91, 1995, 2010, 2016 & 2018 |
| Sri Lanka | 6 | 1986, 1997, 2004, 2008, 2014, 2022 |
| Pakistan | 2 | 2000 & 2012 |
Talking about the most successful teams in Asia, Team India has been predominantly the most successful team based on the number of match wins, trophy and title wins. Since its inception, India has won the trophy seven times and have been runners in at least three tournaments. This year champions, Sri Lanka, has also won the title six times followed by Pakistan who have won the Asia cup twice previously.
It is interesting to note that only three teams namely India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have been able to win the title in Asia Cup’s 38-years history. Bangladesh had qualified for the finals at three occasions but failed to win the trophy and ended only as runners-up.
Talking about most successful teams, Pakistan has won the Asia Cup trophy two times in 2000 and then 2012. Both tournaments were played in the ODI format. The green tream also ended as runners-up three times against Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is the second most successful teams so far in terms of title wins. They have the Asia Cup trophy six times in 1986, 1997, 2004, 2008, 2014 and 2022. Starting from the very first season where they ended up as runners-up, the Lankan Lions have been runners-up in the finals on six occasions in total. They were the runners-up in 1984, 1988, 1990/91, 1995, 2000, and 2010.
India has been the most successful teams who have won the Asia Cup title seven times in 1984, 1988, 1990–91, 1995, 2010, 2016 and 2018. Starting from the very inaugural tournament where they beat Sri Lanka to win the maiden cup, Team India appeared in ten finals of the tournament out of fifteen in total. The Men in Blue ended as runners-up on three occasions in 1997, 2004, and 2008.
Asia Cup Winners List by Year from 1984 to 2022
Since its inaugural event in 1984, the Asia Cup has been dominated by India followed by Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Looking at the Asia Cup winners list, we have compiled year-wise list of all winners and runners up below:
| Edition | Year | Winner | Won By | Runner-up | Host |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15th | 2022 | Sri Lanka | 23 runs | Pakistan | Sri Lanka |
| 14th | 2018 | India | 3 wickets | Bangladesh | UAE |
| 13th | 2016 | India | 8 wickets | Bangladesh | Bangladesh |
| 12th | 2014 | Sri Lanka | 5 wickets | Pakistan | Bangladesh |
| 11th | 2012 | Pakistan | 2 runs | Bangladesh | Bangladesh |
| 10th | 2010 | India | 81 runs | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka |
| 9th | 2008 | Sri Lanka | 100 runs | India | Pakistan |
| 8th | 2004 | Sri Lanka | 25 runs | India | Sri Lanka |
| 7th | 2000 | Pakistan | 39 runs | Sri Lanka | Bangladesh |
| 6th | 1997 | Sri Lanka | 8 wickets | India | Sri Lanka |
| 5th | 1995 | India | 8 wickets | Sri Lanka | UAE |
| 4th | 1990-91 | India | 7 wickets | Sri Lanka | India |
| 3rd | 1988 | India | 6 wickets | Sri Lanka | Bangladesh |
| 2nd | 1986 | Sri Lanka | 5 wickets | Pakistan | Sri Lanka |
| 1st | 1984 | India | India won | Sri Lanka | UAE |
2022 Asia Cup Edition
The most recent edition of the Asia Cup was won by Sri Lanka after defeating Pakistan in the final. The tournament was played in T20 format at UAE venues (Dubai and Sharjah). During the 16-days event from August 27 to September 11, a total of six teams including India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong participated. Both India and Afghanistan won all their respective Group A and B matches but it was Sri Lanka and Pakistan who reached the final through Super 4 stage.
2023 Asia Cup
The next edition of Asia Cup is scheduled to be held in 2023 with Pakistan as a host. Unlike the 2022 edition, upcoming tournament will be played in ODI format and is tentatively scheduled during August-September period ahead of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
*Last updated on 10th December 2022
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