Asia Cup is the best tournament apart from the ICC events. The clashes among the top Asian Countries decide the king of Asia. Having started the tournament in 1984, Asian Cricket Council will conduct the 16th edition of the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and Pakistan in August 2023. Asia Cup has a mighty legacy due to the involvement of big dogs like Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara, Inzamam Ul Haq, MS Dhoni, etc. Batting in the Asia Cup is not easy as icons like Lasith Malinga, Wasim Akram, Zaheer Khan, and Shoaib Akhtar used to get the hell out of batsmen. Let’s look at the players with the most runs in Asia Cup history.

Sanath Jayasuriya
Former Srilankan player Sanath Jayasuriya has scored the most runs in Asia Cup history. In 24 innings, Jayasuriya amassed 1220 runs at a staggering average of 53.20. The southpaw also smashed the most number of centuries in this competition, 6. His highest score in the marquee event was 130 against India in the 2004 Asia Cup in Colombo.
Kumar Sangakkara
The 2nd spot on the list is occupied by none other than Kumar Sangakkara. Being the best wicket-keeper batsman in Asia Cup history, Kumar made 1075 runs in 24 matches, averaging 48.86. With his classic touch, Sanga hit 4 tons and 8 fifties, the most by any batter in the tournament history.
Sachin Tendulkar
The greatest batsman of all time, Sachin Tendulkar has to be on this list of highest runs in Asia Cup history. Sachin accumulated 971 runs in 23 matches in Asia Cup. Sachin won the Asia Cup thrice in his career from 1990 to 2012. Technically sound Sachin hammered bowlers like Wasim Akram, Lasith Malinga, Chaminda Vaas, and Waqar Younis in his Asia Cup career. The Mumbai-born batsman whacked 2 centuries and 7 half-centuries in his Asia Cup outings.
Shoaib Malik
Ex-Pakistani all-rounder, Shoaib Malik finds himself in 4th place in terms of scoring the most runs in the Asia Cup. Malik was a part of the Pakistani team for this marquee event 8 times. Serving the team in 17 matches, Malik amassed 786 runs at an exceptional average of 65.50. Malik had the privilege to hold the silverware twice (in 2000 & 2012) during his career.
Rohit Sharma
The only batsman to score 3 ODI double centuries, current Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has the highest run among active players and 5th most runs overall in Asia Cup history. Featuring 23 games, the charismatic batsman has amassed 756 runs at a decent average of 44.47. Batting mostly on timing and class, Sharma has hit 17 sixes in the event so far, which is the 3rd most by any batsman. In 2018, He led India to clinch their 7th Asia Cup title in UAE, while finishing as the 2nd highest run-getter with 317 runs in 5 matches.
Top 10 Batters with Most Runs In Asia Cup
Player | Matches | Innings | Runs | Avg | SR | Best | 50s | 100s |
S Jayasuriya (SL) | 25 | 24 | 1220 | 53.04 | 102.52 | 130 | 3 | 6 |
K Sangakkara (SL) | 24 | 23 | 1075 | 48.86 | 84.51 | 121 | 8 | 4 |
S Tendulkar (IND) | 23 | 21 | 971 | 51.10 | 85.47 | 114 | 7 | 2 |
S Malik (PAK) | 17 | 15 | 786 | 65.50 | 90.65 | 143 | 3 | 3 |
R Sharma (IND) | 23 | 22 | 756 | 44.47 | 84.09 | 111* | 6 | 1 |
A Ranatunga (SL) | 19 | 19 | 741 | 57.00 | 82.79 | 131* | 6 | 1 |
M Rahim (BAN) | 23 | 23 | 737 | 35.09 | 85.30 | 144 | 2 | 2 |
M Jayawardene (SL) | 28 | 26 | 674 | 29.30 | 87.64 | 78 | 7 | – |
MS Dhoni (IND) | 19 | 16 | 648 | 64.80 | 87.68 | 109* | 3 | 1 |
A DE Silva (SL) | 24 | 22 | 645 | 32.25 | 83.44 | 96* | 4 | – |
M Atapattu (SL) | 13 | 12 | 642 | 64.20 | 71.09 | 100 | 6 | 1 |
V Kohli (IND) | 12 | 11 | 617 | 56.09 | 96.70 | 183 | 1 | 3 |
Most Runs in Each Asia Cup ODI Edition
Year | Player | Team | Runs |
1984 | Surinder Khanna | India | 187 |
1986 | Arjuna Ranatunga | Sri Lanka | 105 |
1988 | Ijaz Ahmed | Pakistan | 192 |
1990-91 | Arjuna Ranatunga | Sri Lanka | 166 |
1995 | Sachin Tendulkar | India | 205 |
1997 | Arjuna Ranatunga | Sri Lanka | 272 |
2000 | Yusuf Youhana | Pakistan | 295 |
2004 | Shoaib Malik | Pakistan | 316 |
2008 | Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | 378 |
2010 | Shahid Afridi | Pakistan | 265 |
2012 | Virat Kohli | India | 357 |
2014 | Lahiru Thirimanne | Sri Lanka | 279 |
2018 | Shikhar Dhawan | India | 342 |
Sanath Jayasuriya has scored the most runs in Asia Cup (1220).
Sachin Tendulkar has the highest number of runs in the Asia Cup (971) among Indians.
Hong Kong’s Babar Hayat has the highest number of runs in Asia Cup T20, with 192 runs in 3 matches.
Virat Kohli has made 617 runs in 12 matches in Asia Cup (ODI).
Also Check out Who has Most Wickets in Asia Cup ODI here.
Senior Cricket Content Editor at Skyblogs Cricket.
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