The Asia Cup is one of the most popular cricket leagues that have had a successful run over decades. The tournament featured various cricket-playing nations from the Asian continent and was established by the Asian Cricket Council to boost the goodwill between the countries.
Ever since the tournament commenced in 1984, various cricketers have left their impact with incredible performances spread over both the cricket formats of one-day internationals and T20 internationals, earning themselves the title of most runs scorer in the Asia cup.
While playing both formats alternatively in two years, the Asian countries cricketers have had a good run in the tournament. The batsmen have made great progress in their careers while playing the international tournament and have taken the platform to achieve greater milestones. For example, recently, the former Indian captain, Virat Kohli, scored his first-ever century in the T20 international format and marked the highest number of runs to be ever scored by an Indian in T20Is.
Ahead of the Asia Cup 2023, let’s check out the batsmen with the most runs in Asia Cup in both the ODI and T20I formats.
All time Most Runs in Asia Cup (ODIs)
| BATSMEN | RUNS | INNINGS | HIGH SCORE | AVERAGE | 50s/100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) | 1220 | 24 | 130 | 53.04 | 3/6 |
| Kumar Sangakkara (SL) | 1075 | 23 | 121 | 48.86 | 8/4 |
| Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | 971 | 21 | 114 | 51.10 | 7/2 |
| Shoaib Malik (PAK) | 786 | 15 | 143 | 65.50 | 3/3 |
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | 745 | 21 | 111* | 46.56 | 6/1 |
| Arjuna Ranatunga (SL) | 741 | 19 | 131* | 57.00 | 6/1 |
| Mushfiqur Rahim (BAN) | 699 | 21 | 144 | 36.78 | 2/2 |
| Mahela Jayawardene (SL) | 674 | 28 | 78 | 29.30 | 7/0 |
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 648 | 19 | 109* | 64.80 | 3/1 |
| Aravinda de Silva (SL) | 645 | 24 | 96* | 32.25 | 0/4 |
Asia cup most runs: ODIs Overview
The majority of the tournament has been played in the ODI format as the teams across various cricket-playing nations fight to win the title. Out of the 15 editions of the Asia Cup, 13 have been played in the ODI format. While the Indian cricket team remains at the top as the most successful team in the tournament, with six wins in the ODI format and one in the T20I format.
Let’s check out the top run Scorers in the history of the ODI format of the Asia Cup.
1 Sanath Jayasuriya (1220 runs)
One of the most destructive batsmen in the history of Cricket, the former Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya has the most runs in Asia Cup ODIs. Jayasuriya is widely regarded as one of the best batsmen in the history of Sri Lankan cricket and has been an integral part of the team as Sri Lanka has become the only team in the history of Asia Cup to play all the 15 seasons of the tournament, followed by India and Pakistan (14 each).
With 1220 runs to his name, Sanath Jaisurya is the Asia Cup highest runs scorers. Having played 24 innings in the tournament, Sanath Jayasuriya scored the highest 130, with an average of 53.04.
The attacking gameplay of Jayasurya has been widely recognised as he constantly defends his title of scoring the most number of centuries in the tournament, with his attacking and impactful six centuries. Jayasurya also has the title of scoring the most number of runs in a particular season of the tournament, with 378 runs in 2008.
2 Kumar Sangakkara (1075 runs)
The former Sri Lankan cricket team captain and attacking wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara reign the second spot in the list of Asia Cup most runs in ODIs. Kumar Sangakkara has been a part of the Sri Lanka cricket team squad in their three-season win in 2004, 2008 and 2014.
The ICC Hall of Famer has achieved great heights in the Asia Cup as he became the batsman to have scored the most number of half-centuries and second highest centuries in the tournament, Eight and four respectively.
Kumar Sangakkara is in second place in the list of Asia Cup highest runs scorers in the ODI format with 1075 runs. Having played 23 innings in the tournament, Kumar Sangakkara has the highest score of 121 with an average of 48.86.
3 Sachin Tendulkar (971 runs)
The master blaster, Sachin Tendulkar, never misses any list of the highest run scorer in any tournament. Like the other championships, Sachin Tendulkar has made the Asia Cup tournament his own as even after years of retirement; he is the Asia Cup Top Scorer for his country in ODIs.
Sachin Tendulkar has been a part of the Indian cricket team squad in their three-season win in 1990, 1995 and 2010. Over the years, Sachin Tendulkar has scored 971 runs for the Indian cricket team in the Asia Cup.
Having played 21 innings in the tournament, Sachin Tendulkar has the highest score of 114 with an average of 51.10, along with 7 half centuries and two centuries.
Here is the list of the top 10 batsmen with the most runs in the Asia Cup in the ODI format.
All time Most Runs in Asia Cup (T20s)
| BATSMEN | RUNS | INNINGS | HIGH SCORE | AVERAGE | 50s/100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 429 | 9 | 122* | 85.80 | 3/1 |
| Mohammad Rizwan (PAK) | 281 | 6 | 78* | 56.20 | 3/0 |
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | 271 | 9 | 83 | 30.11 | 2/0 |
| Babar Hayat (HKG) | 235 | 5 | 122 | 47.00 | 1/1 |
| Ibrahim Zadran (AFG) | 196 | 5 | 64* | 65.33 | 1/0 |
| Bhanuka Rajapaksa (SL) | 191 | 6 | 71* | 47.75 | 1/0 |
| Sabbir Rahman (BAN) | 181 | 6 | 80 | 36.20 | 1/0 |
| Muhammad Usman (UAE) | 176 | 7 | 46 | 29.33 | 0/0 |
| Najibullah Zadran (AFG) | 176 | 8 | 60* | 35.20 | 1/0 |
| Pathum Nissanka (SL) | 173 | 6 | 55* | 34.60 | 2/0 |
Despite being in existence for approximately 15 years, the shortest format of cricket, T20Is remain a fairly new concept in the Asia Cup tournament. Over the years, the Asia Cup witnessed only two seasons of the T20I format in 2016 and the recently held season of 2022.
The Indian cricket team became the first hosts of the T20I Asia Cup in 2016 and later became the winners of the season, while Sri Lanka won the recent season.
Asia cup most runs: T20Is Overview
1 Virat Kohli (429 runs)
The former all-format captain of the Indian cricket team and aggressive batsman, Virat Kohli is the top batter with the most runs in Asia Cup T20I format. Along with being the highest run scorer, Virat Kohli has also scored the highest in the Asia Cup 183* runs against Pakistan in 2012.
Virat Kohli has also scored the highest individual score in the shortest format of the game for the Indian cricket team of 122* against Afghanistan in 2022.
Over the two seasons of Asia Cup T20, Virat Kohli has scored 429 runs in the nine innings he has played along with a batting average of 85.80 while smashing 3 half centuries to become one of the most successful Indian batsmen in the tournament.
2 Mohammad Rizwan (281 runs)
The young opening batsman of Pakistan, Mohammad Rizwan, is the only batsman to represent his country in the list of top three run scorers in the history of the ODI and T20I format of the Asia Cup. Mohammed Rizwan has been a long-lost gem for his national team as he continues to achieve milestones and score runs in international cricket for Pakistan.
Having played only one season of the Asia Cup in 2022, Mohammed Rizwan has still become the second-highest run-scorer in the T20 format of the Asia Cup. Mohammad Rizwan has scored 281 runs in the six innings he has played. Rizwan has the highest score of 78* with an average of 56.20 along with 3 half centuries and is yet to score a century.
3 Rohit Sharma (271 runs)
The current all-format captain of the Indian cricket team, Rohit Sharma has consistently been one of the most attacking opening batsmen. Despite having a higher average in international cricket, Rohit Sharma’s batting average in the T20I format of the Asia Cup has been extremely low, but he still makes it to the list of top three run scorers in the history of the T20I format of the Asia Cup.
Across the two editions of the Asia Cup T20Is, Rohit Sharma scored 271 runs in the nine innings he has played for India. Rohit Sharma has the highest score of 83 with an average of 30.11 along with 2 half centuries and is yet to score a century. That doesn’t stop him from earning a place in the list of Asia Cup highest runs scorers.
FAQs
Who is the Asia cup highest runs scorers?
Sanath Jayasurya and Virat Kohli are the leading men in the Asia Cup. They have gathered the most runs in the Asia Cup and have become the highest run scorers in the ODI and T20I formats, respectively.
Who was the highest scorer in Asia Cup last edition?
Mohammad Rizwan of Pakistan was the most runs scorer in Asia Cup 2022. He scored 283 runs in just 6 matches in the trournament.
How many runs has Virat Kohli scored in Asia Cup?
Virat Kohli has scored 766 runs in 16 matches in the Asia Cup ODI format. His batting average in the tournament is 63.83, with 3 centuries and 2 half-centuries. His highest score in the Asia Cup is 183, which he scored against Pakistan in 2012.
