The Asia Cup 2025, which will be hosted in the UAE from September 9 to 28, will signal a new dawn in Pakistan’s T20I team, as this will be the first major tournament where the Men In Green will be without both of their stalwarts, Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan, in their shortest format team.
The debacle of the 2024 T20 World Cup, where Pakistan lost to India and the USA and consequently failed to get past the group stage, prompted the decision-makers at the PCB to drop both Babar and Rizwan, with both batsmen failing to work on their strike rates over the past few years.
The Asia Cup has always been an important tournament as the top teams in Asia collide for the crown of the best cricket team on the continent.
There have been 16 Asia Cup competitions so far, from the inaugural tournament in 1984 to the previous one in 2023.
Which team has won the most Asia Cup trophies?
The 16 Asia Cup trophies have been shared by three teams: India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. India have clinched the most Asia Cup titles—8; Sri Lanka have won the second-most, which is six trophies; and Pakistan have won two Asia Cup titles so far.
How Many Asia Cup trophies Pakistan Have Won So Far?
Pakistan have won the Asia Cup two times so far, in 2000 and 2012. The Men In Green have also been the runners-up thrice.
The 2000 Asia Cup tournament was hosted in Bangladesh, in which four teams took part: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
Marshalled by keeper-batsman Moin Khan, Pakistan won all their three group round matches. In the final, they met Sri Lanka, who had won two group games.
In the final in Dhaka, Pakistan posted 277 runs on the back of opener Saeed Anwar’s 82, middle-order batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq’s 72, and skipper Moin Khan’s blistering knock of 56 runs off 31 balls. In the chase, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 238 runs, losing by 39 runs.
Pakistan’s second Asia Cup title was won in 2012, under the captaincy of Misbah-ul-Haq. In the group stage round, the Men In Green beat Bangladesh and Sri Lanka but suffered a defeat to India.
The final took place between Pakistan and Bangladesh in Mirpur, Bangladesh. The final went down to the wire, with Pakistan prevailing by only two runs in the last over.
Batting first, while no Pakistani batsman reached a fifty, five of them reached 30. Shahid Afridi and Sarfaraz Ahmed’s finishing knocks boosted their total to 236 on a spin-friendly, dry surface. Bangladesh were powered by half-centuries from Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, but no other batsman reached 30.
Tight bowling efforts from Saeed Ajmal and Aizaz Cheema kept Pakistan in the game, and eventually Cheema defended nine runs in the last over to seal the win by a couple of runs.
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