Asia Cup Winners List comes with a hidden disclaimer: Numbers matter a lot, but not always. Yes, if we go by the number of trophies, India seems like the most successful team in the Asia cup history. Technically, India is not!
India is a good team with a lot of potential. But when it comes to the Asia cup, India falls a little short. How short? Let’s understand this by revisiting the complete Asia Cup winners list from 1984 to 2022.
Asia Cup Winners List from 1984 to 2022 | Winners & Runners
Asia Cup Winners List is not so long to have convincing data, to arrive at a conclusion. However, let’s dissect cricket history, determine the best team, and disseminate the right information.
| Season | Asia Cup Winner | Runner-up | Host | Format | No. of Teams Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | India | Sri Lanka | UAE | 50 Over. ODI | 3 |
| 1986 | Sri Lanka | Pakistan | Sri Lanka | 50 Over. ODI | 3 |
| 1988 | India | Sri Lanka | Bangladesh | 50 Over. ODI | 4 |
| 1990-91 | India | Sri Lanka | Bangladesh | 50 Over. ODI | 3 |
| 1995 | India | Sri Lanka | UAE | 50 Over. ODI | 4 |
| 1997 | Sri Lanka | India | Sri Lanka | 50 Over. ODI | 4 |
| 2000 | Pakistan | Sri Lanka | Bangladesh | 50 Over. ODI | 4 |
| 2004 | Sri Lanka | India | Sri Lanka | 50 Over. ODI | 6 |
| 2008 | Sri Lanka | India | Pakistan | 50 Over. ODI | 6 |
| 2010 | India | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka | 50 Over. ODI | 4 |
| 2012 | Pakistan | Bangladesh | Bangladesh | 50 Over. ODI | 4 |
| 2014 | Sri Lanka | Pakistan | Bangladesh | 50 Over. ODI | 5 |
| 2016 | India | Bangladesh | Bangladesh | 20 Over. T20 | 5 |
| 2018 | India | Bangladesh | UAE | 50 Over. ODI | 6 |
| 2022 | Sri Lanka | Pakistan | UAE | 20 Over. T20 | 6 |
There are seven obvious pointers we can decipher from this Asia Cup winners list.
- India never hosted an Asia Cup season.
- Four Test-playing nations are ruling the Asia Cup.
- The format has been the same for a long time.
- India won the 1983 World cup and went on to win the inaugural edition of Asia Cup.
- India didn’t participate in the second edition, but won three consecutive editions.
- The number of playing teams was not the same for all the tournaments.
- Finally, India has more number of trophies (7) & Sri Lanka has 6.
Let’s look at the captains of each team to understand the team composition, before we go into the individual performers.
Asia Cup Winning Captains List
The captains always play a crucial role in the result of a particular cricket game.
| Year | Team | Captain |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | India | Sunil Gavaskar |
| 1986 | Sri Lanka | Duleep Mendis |
| 1988 | India | Dilip Vengsarkar |
| 1990-91 | India | Mohammad Azharuddin |
| 1995 | India | Mohammad Azharuddin |
| 1997 | Sri Lanka | Arjuna Ranatunga |
| 2000 | Pakistan | Moin Khan |
| 2004 | Sri Lanka | Marvan Atapattu |
| 2008 | Sri Lanka | Mahela Jayawardane |
| 2010 | India | MS Dhoni |
| 2012 | Pakistan | Misbah-ul-Haq |
| 2014 | Sri Lanka | Angelo Mathews |
| 2016 | India | MS Dhoni |
| 2018 | India | Rohit Sharma |
| 2022 | Sri Lanka | Dasun Shanaka |
Two Indian captains won the trophy twice. (Azharuddin & Dhoni). When we have a look at all these data points, it is almost convincing that India could be the best team. But again, it’s not!
Which is the best team in Asia Cup & Why?
Undoubtedly, Sri Lanka. There are a few data points, which are not readily available or always kept in the dark. At CricketBetting.info, we unravel the unexplored.
Go through these pointers to find out which is the best team in Asia Cup, regardless of the Asia Cup winners list.
Sri Lanka Rules the Bowling Charts | Asia Cup Winners List for Bowling
The title may sound quirky, but it is a clean sweep when it comes to Asia Cup Bowling performance from the Islanders.
- The Top 3 in the leading wicket-taker list are from Sri Lanka: Muttiah Muralidharan, Lasith Malinga & Ajanta Mendis.
- We can’t ignore the bowling prowess of Chaminda Vaas
- They had death-over bowlers, even before the shorter cricket format (T20) was introduced.
Sri Lanka Tops the Batting Charts
It is surprising that Sachin Tendulkar, the legend from India, is not the top run scorer in the Asia Cup.
- Sanath Jayasuriya is the proud record holder of “Most Runs in Asia Cup” award.
- The second place goes to Kumar Sangarkkara. Another player in Sri Lankan colours.
- Even in the Hundreds & Fifties count, Sachin is not leading.
Sri Lanka Played the Most Number of Asia Cup Finals
Though the Indian team won the Asia Cup trophy seven times, they have reached the finals only 11 times.
- Sri Lankan team reached the finals 12 times.
- It shows their consistency in performance in Asia Cup.
- Sri Lanka emerged as a strong contender, and they are the defending champions this season.
Concluding Thoughts on Asia Cup Winners List
A list to keep as reference, a list to find out who-won-when, and a list to check who-hosted-which-edition: these are the reasons we can use the Asia Cup winners list for.
We can’t rely on this list of Asia Cup winners, to determine which is the best team.
Sri Lanka as a team was power-packed and was firing from all the departments. It is just a matter of time. Who knows, if Sri Lanka wins the 2023 Asia Cup, the islanders will equal the record that India holds (Most number of Asia Cup Trophies).
If you would like to bet on Asia Cup 2023, take this angle into consideration. Always analyse the current form of players. Stay tuned for more cricketing information.
For more Details you can also visit Cricket Betting Domain
