On Tuesday, September 9, Afghanistan and Hong Kong will play in Group B at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi to kick off the Asia Cup 2025. Since the T20 World Cup will be contested in India and Sri Lanka the following year, this year’s competition will be played in the T20 format.
The 17th Asia Cup edition will be the next competition. Only two of the 16 editions that have been played so far have been in the T20 format. The first occurred in Bangladesh in 2016, while the second occurred in the United Arab Emirates in 2022.
In the final in Mirpur, Team India defeated the hosts, Bangladesh, by eight wickets to win the 2016 tournament. After a dismal Super Four round in 2022, they were unable to advance to the final. We examine India’s top five run scorers in the T20 men’s Asia Cup ahead of the 2025 tournament.
1. Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli is the former captain and Indian hitter who has the highest number of hits in T20 men Asia cup. He had 429 runs with the average of 85.80 and struck at a rate of 132 at 10 games (nine innings). Kohli scored one hundred and three-halves of a century.
In Afghanistan vs Dubai in 2022, he scored 122 off 61 with his top score of 122 achieved. The knock, with six sixes and twelve fours, terminated also the three years of a drought in Kohli. In the Super Four match against Pakistan at the same location, he too scored 60 runs off of 44 balls. However, India was defeated by five wickets.
2. Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma, the captain of Team India which won T20 world cup is second on the list of Men in Blue batters with most runs in the T20 men in Asia Cup. During nine games, the Hitman scored 271 runs at a strike rate of 141.14 and average of 30.11. Rohit had two half-centuries in nine innings.
| Player | Matches | Runs | Average | SR | HS | 100s | 50s |
| Virat Kohli | 10 | 429 | 85.80 | 132 | 122* | 1 | 3 |
| Rohit Sharma | 9 | 271 | 30.11 | 141.14 | 83 | 0 | 2 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | 5 | 139 | 34.75 | 163.52 | 68* | 0 | 1 |
| KL Rahul | 5 | 132 | 26.40 | 122.22 | 62 | 0 | 1 |
| Yuvraj Singh | 5 | 89 | 44.50 | 111.25 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
During the first game of the 2016 tournament, the batsman opening the innings was able to score a maximum of 83 out of 55 balls against Bangladesh in Mirpur. India was playing with 45 run lead that they won on the fall due to the knock that consisted of three sixes and seven fours. Rohit also made 72 out of 41 balls in a match in the Super Four of the 2022 Sri Lanka vs India tour, in Dubai. Sri Lanka won with one ball left even after he had fours and sixes.
3. Suryakumar Yadav
Current captain Suryakumar Yadav has the third highest number of Indian batters in the T20 men Asia Cup. He has collected 139 runs, an average of 34.75 and a whopping strike rate of 163.52 in five games.
The 2022 version produced the highest score of 68* by Suryakumar against Hong Kong in Dubai on only 26 balls. The fast-paced knock had six fours and sixes to the same extent. In the same edition, the 360-degree batter defeated Sri Lanka in the Super Four match in Dubai, scoring 34 runs off of 29 balls.
4. KL Rahul
In the 2022 Asia Cup in the UAE, KL Rahul had 132 runs in five matches. In a strike rate of 122.22 and an average of 26.40 he scored his runs. The statistics of Rahul were one duck and one half-century.
The highest score of the right-handed batter of 62 out of 41 balls was against Afghanistan in Dubai and comprised of six fours and two sixes. Virat Kohli and Rahul took part in an opening stand of 119. The batsman, who had scored 36 in 39 balls on earlier occasions against Hong Kong in this tournament did not fare well.
5. Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh, the former all-rounder, takes the seventh position in the list of Indian batters that have scored the most in the T20 men’s Asia Cup. He 89 runs in five matches (four innings) at an average of 44.50 and a strike rate of 111.25.
In the 2016 Asia Cup, the southpaw’s top score of 35 came off just 18 balls against Sri Lanka in Mirpur. There were three fours and as many sixes in the knock. In the same edition, Yuvraj also hit 25* off 14 balls against the UAE in Mirpur.
