India will kick off its Asia Cup campaign on September 2 against Pakistan in Kandy. The tournament which promises to be a blockbuster will present an opportunity for Indian batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to register their names in an elite list of batters with the most runs in Asia Cup cricket played in the ODI format.
The list has legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar taking the third spot while Indian captain Rohit Sharma is in the fifth position. The surprising thing in the list is the position of former Indian captain Virat Kohli who is on the 12th spot.
Virat who has been playing Asia Cup since 2010 did not feature in the 2018 edition the last time when the tournament was played in 50 over format. Virat’s great run of form in the Asia Cup started in 2012 when he scored centuries against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
He continued the good form in 2014 as well but unfortunately, team India was knocked out in the group stages in both editions and since then Virat hasn’t featured in the Asia Cup played in the ODI format.
Sachin Tendulkar Leading from the front
Like Virat, Rohit’s good run in the Asia Cup started in the 2012 edition when he was involved in a match-winning partnership with Virat against Pakistan. But his breakthrough performance came in the 2018 Asia Cup where he led the team for the first time in the tournament which India won after enjoying an unbeaten run throughout the tournament having escaped with a tie in a close match against Afghanistan.
Interestingly India played with a second-string side in that match with Dhoni as the captain of the team. Rohit led from the front in that tournament with a century against Pakistan.
An Elite List
In the upcoming tournament, Rohit will need 226 runs while Virat needs 358 runs to overtake Sachin in the list of Indian batters with the most runs in the Asia Cup (ODI).
Virat and Rohit remain two of the finest batters of their generation, and the Asia Cup 2023 is also set to bring out the best in them, especially keeping the preparations for the forthcoming ODI World Cup in mind.
