With just one day to go for the Asia Cup to kick off, the excitement around the tournament has been building, not least for the fact that it serves as a curtain-raiser for the ODI World Cup starting in just over a month's time.
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The Asia Cup has a storied history of its own, with this region being one of the most popular ones in the world for cricket to grow and flourish. The first tournament was held in 1984 with the participants being India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Over the years, the tournament has expanded to include the likes of Bangladesh, UAE, Hong Kong, Afghanistan and Nepal.
Here, The Sporting News takes a look at the top run-scorers in the history of the competition.
Who has scored the most runs in Asia Cup history (ODI)?
Given that two Asia Cups (2016 & 2022) have taken place in the T20I format, it is only right to separate the two formats and have a look at the records.
In the ODI format, two Sri Lankans lead the charts as the only players to have scored more than 1000 runs in the Asia Cup; Sanath Jayasuriya (1220) and Kumar Sangakkara (1075). India's top run-scorer is Sachin Tendulkar with 971 runs.
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Indian captain Rohit Sharma has 745 runs so far and will be looking to overtake Tendulkar in this edition. Virat Kohli lags behind with 613 runs, having not participated in the 2018 Asia Cup.
| Player | National Team | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | 24 | 1220 | 53.0 | 102.5 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 23 | 1075 | 48.9 | 84.5 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | 21 | 971 | 51.1 | 85.5 |
| Shoaib Malik | Pakistan | 15 | 786 | 65.5 | 90.7 |
| Rohit Sharma | India | 21 | 745 | 46.6 | 84.9 |
Who has scored the most runs in Asia Cup history (T20I)?
If Kohli is lagging behind in the ODI run-scorers chart, it is just the opposite in T20Is. The India star has put substantial distance between himself and the chasing pack in this format of the Asia Cup. His tally of 429 runs is staggering considering that no one else has scored more than 300 runs.
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Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan is second with 281 runs and there is a surprise entrant at No 4 on the list, with Hong Kong's Babar Hayat having notched up 235 runs.
| Player | National Team | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | India | 9 | 429 | 85.8 | 132.0 |
| Mohammad Rizwan | Pakistan | 6 | 281 | 56.2 | 117.6 |
| Rohit Sharma | India | 9 | 271 | 30.1 | 141.1 |
| Babar Hayat | Hong Kong | 5 | 235 | 47.0 | 146.9 |
| Ibrahim Zadran | Afghanistan | 5 | 196 | 65.3 | 104.3 |
When does the Asia Cup 2023 start?
The Asia Cup starts on Wednesday, August 30. The first fixture sees Pakistan take on Nepal in Multan. India's first match is against Pakistan on September 2.
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