Top Asia Cup 2025 Players Stats News

The Asia Cup – cricket's ultimate battleground in the sub-continent – returns this year with what promises to be another action-packed tournament. Back in its full glory of 50-overs format, the tournament has in the past served as a preparation for Asia's cricketing giants to fine-tune their participation for the World Cup, and this time, after five long years, the series will mark the return of ODIs as its format. The last time the 50-over Asia Cup took place was back in 2018, which India won by defeating Bangladesh in the final. Between then and now, a lot has changed, barring one very eye-catching trivia: Rohit Sharma, who was the captain filling in for a rested Virat Kohli, will lead India in the Asia Cup for the second time in two years.

To begin with, this will be the 16th edition of the tournament. First competed in 1984, the Asia Cup has seen some of the most jaw-dropping performances – both individual and team-wise. What is the Asia Cup without some telling statistics? To begin with, India are the most successful team having won the tournament a record 7 times, followed by Sri Lanka clinching their sixth title last year in the UAE.

Moving on to individual brilliance, Sanath Jayasuriya holds the record for being the highest run-scorer in the history of the Asia Cup. Known for his aggressive and destructive style of play, the Sri Lankan opening batsman revolutionized the role in limited-overs cricket. Between 1990 and 2008, Jayasuriya amassed an impressive total of 1220 runs across six editions of the tournament. Notably, he also holds the record for the most centuries in the Asia Cup, with six to his name. Kumar Sangakkara, another Sri Lankan batting great, is the only other player to have scored over 1000 runs in the Asia Cup, with a total of 1075 runs and four centuries.

The highest individual score by a batsman in the history of the Asia Cup is Virat Kohli's remarkable 183 against Pakistan in 2012. This innings not only holds significance in the tournament's context but also stands as Kohli's highest individual score in One Day Internationals (ODIs) throughout his career. Furthermore, Kohli's innings of 183 remains the only instance of a player surpassing the 150-run mark in the Asia Cup.

Among the leading wicket-takers in the ODI format throughout the history of the Asia Cup, four of the top five belong to Sri Lanka. Sitting at the top is the legendary Muttiah Muralitharan, who claimed an impressive 30 wickets from 1995 to 2010. Just behind him is Lasith Malinga, known for his exceptional performances in subcontinental conditions, with a tally of 29 wickets, including three instances of taking five-wicket hauls.

Breaking the Sri Lankan dominance, the first non-Lankan to feature among the leading wicket-takers is Saeed Ajmal, who claimed 25 wickets for Pakistan in 12 matches. Following him closely is Chaminda Vaas, who took 23 wickets in 19 matches. In the T20I editions of the Asia Cup, Bhuvneshwar Kumar leads the pack with 13 wickets across two tournaments. Notably, Bhuvneshwar also holds the record for the best individual bowling figures in the tournament, achieving a remarkable 5-wicket haul while conceding only 4 runs during his devastating spell against Afghanistan in 2022.