The Asia Cup, one of the premier tournaments in men’s cricket, is held biennially by the Asian Cricket Council. As the name suggests, cricket teams from Asia are eligible to participate in the tournament.
To foster goodwill among the Asian nations, the Asian Cricket Council was formed in 1983, and since then, they have organized the tournament biennially. India has the most title wins (8) in the Asia Cup, winning their most recent victory in 2023.
The 2023 edition of the tournament was held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, with India emerging as the winner. The final of the Asia Cup was played between India and Sri Lanka on 17 September 2023.
This feature aims to list all the winners of the Asia Cup over the years from 1984 to 2023.
Let’s begin!
Every edition of the tournament sees a new winner, with India leading the list with 8 titles.
Speaking about the history of the Asia Cup, the Men in Blue faced the jubilant Sri Lanka in the final match of the first edition of the tournament in 1984. It was a closely fought encounter; where the Indian team came out on top, winning the inaugural edition of the tournament. This marked the beginning of a new era that would lay the foundation of the Asian Age in world cricket. In the second edition of the tournament, Sri Lanka emerged victorious by defeating Pakistan in the final.
There were many interesting matches and finals in the history of the Asia Cup, especially since the tournament was played in the T20 format. Since the inception of T20 and its global appeal, the Asian Cricket Council decided to play the tournament in T20 format, though not exclusively. The format depends on the current environment and the requirements of international cricket.
Meanwhile, India is the most successful team in the Asia Cup with 8 titles, followed closely by Sri Lanka with 6 titles, while Pakistan has won the tournament twice. Bangladesh reached the final three times but never managed to lift the cup.
Now, let’s look at the Asia Cup winners list from 1984 to 2023.
Asia Cup Trophy Winners List:
| Edition | Year | Winner | Won by | Runner-up | Host |
| 1st | 1984 | India | India won | Sri Lanka | UAE |
| 2nd | 1986 | Sri Lanka | 5 wickets | Pakistan | Sri Lanka |
| 3rd | 1988 | India | 6 wickets | Sri Lanka | Bangladesh |
| 4th | 1990-91 | India | 7 wickets | Sri Lanka | India |
| 5th | 1995 | India | 8 wickets | Sri Lanka | UAE |
| 6th | 1997 | Sri Lanka | 8 wickets | India | Sri Lanka |
| 7th | 2000 | Pakistan | 39 runs | Sri Lanka | Bangladesh |
| 8th | 2004 | Sri Lanka | 25 runs | India | Sri Lanka |
| 9th | 2008 | Sri Lanka | 100 runs | India | Pakistan |
| 10th | 2010 | India | 81 runs | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka |
| 11th | 2012 | Pakistan | 2 runs | Bangladesh | Bangladesh |
| 12th | 2014 | Sri Lanka | 5 wickets | Pakistan | Bangladesh |
| 13th | 2016 | India | 8 wickets | Bangladesh | Bangladesh |
| 14th | 2018 | India | 3 wickets | Bangladesh | UAE |
| 15th | 2022 | Sri Lanka | 23 runs | Pakistan | Sri Lanka |
| 16th | 2023 | India | 10 wickets | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka/Pakistan |
Since the tournament began, some countries have won it multiple times while others haven’t. A few of them couldn’t even make it to the finals. India leads this list with 8 titles, closely followed by Sri Lanka with 6 titles, and Pakistan with 2 titles.
In this section, we will provide the country-wise Asia Cup title winners list. Let’s refer to the table to see when and how many times each team has won the tournament.
| Team | Winning Year | Won | Runner-up |
| India | 1984, 1988, 1991, 1995, 2010, 2016, 2018, 2023 | 8 times | 3 times |
| Sri Lanka | 1986, 1997, 2004, 2008, 2014, 2022, 2023 | 6 times | 7 times |
| Pakistan | 2000, 2012 | 2 times | 3 times |
| Bangladesh | – | – | 3 times |
| Afghanistan | – | – | – |
| Nepal | – | – | – |
| Hong Kong | – | – | – |
This year’s Asia Cup was initially scheduled to be played in Pakistan. However, due to security concerns and India’s reluctance to travel to Pakistan, the Asian Cricket Council decided to shift the tournament to Sri Lanka, with a few matches still scheduled to be played in Pakistan.
In a World Cup year, the Asia Cup was played in the 50-over format, and it turned out to be an exceptional tournament with the fabulous Indian cricket schedule. It was one of the most enthralling and spectacular tournaments we have ever witnessed. After the conclusion, India won the title, defeating Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in a one-sided affair.
Suggest Read: IPL Winner List
In the ODI format of the Asia Cup, Sanath Jayasurya leads the chart of the highest run scorer with 1220 runs from 25 matches, followed by the flamboyant wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara with 1075 runs from 24 matches.
As for the Indians, the God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar is third on the list with 971 runs from 23 matches. Rohit Sharma, the current captain of the Indian team, is fourth on the list with 939 runs from 28 matches.
Here is the list of the top 10 players who scored the most runs in the Asia Cup (ODI format).
| Player | Span | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | 100 | 50 |
| ST Jayasuriya (SL) | 1990-2008 | 25 | 24 | 1 | 1220 | 130 | 53 | 6 | 3 |
| KC Sangakkara (SL) | 2004-2014 | 24 | 23 | 1 | 1075 | 121 | 48.9 | 4 | 8 |
| SR Tendulkar (IND) | 1990-2012 | 23 | 21 | 2 | 971 | 114 | 51.1 | 2 | 7 |
| RG Sharma (IND) | 2008-2023 | 28 | 26 | 6 | 939 | 111* | 47 | 1 | 9 |
| Mushfiqur Rahim (BAN) | 2008-2023 | 25 | 25 | 2 | 830 | 144 | 36.1 | 2 | 3 |
| Shoaib Malik (PAK) | 2000-2018 | 17 | 15 | 3 | 786 | 143 | 65.5 | 3 | 3 |
| V Kohli (IND) | 2010-2023 | 16 | 13 | 1 | 742 | 183 | 61.8 | 4 | 1 |
| A Ranatunga (SL) | 1984-1997 | 19 | 19 | 6 | 741 | 131* | 57 | 1 | 6 |
| DPMD Jayawardene (SL) | 2000-2014 | 28 | 26 | 3 | 674 | 78 | 29.3 | – | 7 |
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 2008-2018 | 19 | 16 | 6 | 648 | 109* | 64.8 | 1 | 3 |
Suggested Read: ICC T20 World Cup Winners List Year Wise: From Young India to New England
Ans: India won the Asia Cup a record 8 times.
Ans: India is the country with the most titles in the list of Asia Cup winners, winning the prestigious tournament a record 8 times.
Ans: India emerged as the victors in the Asia Cup 2023 held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. India annihilated Sri Lanka in the final match to win the title by 10 wickets.
