With the Asia Cup 2023 fast approaching, fans are curious about how many times have India won the cricket Asia Cup. Team India have won the Asia Cup on seven occasions and are the most successful team in the competition’s history.
The Asia Cup is one of the most prestigious cricket competitions in the continent. It has been hosted on a regular basis since the inaugural edition, which too, was held in the United Arab Emirates in 1984. The format of the Asia Cup mirrors the ICC tournament it precedes.
The 2018 Asia Cup, for example, was held in the 50-over format since it was followed by the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019. This will be the 15th edition of the Asia Cup and the tournament got postponed and rescheduled several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
How many times have India won cricket Asia Cup: Winners’ list
| Year | Champions | Runners-up | Number of teams | Final venue | Host Country |
| 1984 | India | Sri Lanka | 3 | Sharjah | UAE |
| 1986 | Sri Lanka | Pakistan | 3 | Colombo | Sri Lanka |
| 1988 | India | Sri Lanka | 4 | Dhaka | Bangladesh |
| 1990/91 | India | Sri Lanka | 3 | Kolkata | India |
| 1995 | India | Sri Lanka | 4 | Sharjah | UAE |
| 1997 | Sri Lanka | India | 4 | Colombo | Sri Lanka |
| 2000 | Pakistan | Sri Lanka | 4 | Dhaka | Bangladesh |
| 2004 | Sri Lanka | India | 6 | Colombo | Sri Lanka |
| 2008 | Sri Lanka | India | 6 | Karachi | Pakistan |
| 2010 | India | Sri Lanka | 4 | Dambulla | Sri Lanka |
| 2012 | Pakistan | Bangladesh | 4 | Mirpur | Bangladesh |
| 2014 | Sri Lanka | Pakistan | 5 | Mirpur | Bangladesh |
| 2016 | India | Bangladesh | 6 | Mirpur | Bangladesh |
| 2018 | India | Bangladesh | 6 | Dubai | UAE |
As is evident from the above table, India have seven titles to their name. They are the most successful team in the history of the Asia Cup. The Men in Blue will also arrive into this tournament as the defending champions after becoming Asia Cup winners during the most recent edition of the tournament in 2018.
Team India became champions of Asia for the first time in the inaugural edition of the competition in 1984 in UAE. On that occasion, India defeated Sri Lanka to win the tournament that was contested by only three teams.
Following that India won three consecutive Asia Cup trophies in 1988, 1990/91 and 1995. The tournaments were held in Bangladesh, India, and UAE respectively. On all three occasions, it was Sri Lanka who finished as runners-up once again.
India defeated Sri Lanka once again in the final of the Asia Cup in 2010 to become champions for the fifth time.
The Men in Blue’s most recent Asia Cup victories have both been against Bangladesh. India defeated Bangladesh in the final of the 2016 Asia Cup by eight wickets to lift their sixth trophy. The 2018 Asia Cup was held in the One Day format in UAE, where India emerged triumphant once again, beating Bangladesh by three wickets.
India had pulled out of the 1986 Asia Cup due to strained cricket relations with Sri Lanka and were replaced by Bangladesh as a result. In 1997, the Men in Blue ended up on the losing side as Sri Lanka secured their second Asia Cup triumph, this time on home soil.
India’s drought in the competition continued until 2010, with the team finishing runners-up again in 2004 and 2008 while they finished third in the group stage in the 2000 Asia Cup and were knocked out of the competition.
In the 2012 Asia Cup, the record winners failed to progress to the final after finishing third in the group stage and getting eliminated. History repeated itself once again in 2014, as they finished third once again to get knocked out of the competition.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, are the second most successful team and are high on the winners’ list having won the competition six times, their most recent win arriving in 2022 in UAE.
Pakistan have also won the Asia Cup twice – in 2000 and 2012. Bangladesh have qualified for the finals on three occasions but are yet to win the competition. Meanwhile, Afghanistan recorded their best finish after reaching the Super Four phase in 2018.
FAQs
How many times have Pakistan won the Asia Cup?
Pakistan have won the Asia Cup twice – in 2000 and 2012.
Who have been the Asia Cup-winning captains for India?
Sunil Gavaskar was the captain of the inaugural Asia Cup-winning team in 1984. Dilip Vengsarkar then led the team to victory in 1988. Mohammad Azharuddin won two Asia Cups for India as captain, in 1990-91 and 1995. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has also led the team to victories in two Asia Cups in 2010 and 2016. Rohit Sharma oversaw the 2018 Asia Cup win as captain after Virat Kohli had opted for rest instead.
