India have been the winner of three of the latest four editions.
Few contests have been as lopsided as the one between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Asia Cup 2025 last night. Batting first, the UAE were bundled on a mere 57 in 13.1 overs, and India chased down the total in 4.3 overs while losing only a solitary wicket. It was the quickest India had completed the chase in a non-affected T20I, and 17.4 overs in the game were the lowest the Men in Blue have ever played.
In short, there was no contest. Given India’s strength, this might be a trend for the rest of the tournament. They will play Pakistan and Oman in the remaining group fixtures before the competition moves to the Super Four.
For now, India look the most suited team to win without any real threat. The teams, such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, have not been as strong away from home. Meanwhile, Pakistan are also going through a transition period and stand no chance in man-to-man rankings.
This effectively renders the tournament irrelevant, given India’s dominance. Obviously, exposure to weaker teams helps their progress, but barring that, the Asia Cup no longer holds any significance. India can still lose the tournament, but this point stands true; it has become one-sided more than ever.
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There have been 14 Asia Cups in ODI format, starting from 1984. India have won seven of them, including the latest one in 2023. Sri Lanka have won five, followed by Pakistan’s two.
Meanwhile, in the T20I format, two editions have taken place, in 2016 and 2022. India won the inaugural one, whereas Sri Lanka clinched the trophy on the second attempt. Overall, India have been victorious eight out of 17 Asia Cup tournaments, around 47.05% of the time.
India have played 66 matches in the competition across formats, winning 44 and losing 19 with a win-loss ratio of 2.315. Two games ended without a result, while the remaining one was a tie. No other team has a higher win-loss ratio.
That dominance has extended in recent years, and it has reached a point where their victory won’t seem a significant achievement. For instance, India have been the winner of three of the latest four editions. They are surely on the path to add another one to their cabinet.
Ravichandran Ashwin also highlighted the same issue, pointing out why even Afghanistan, seen as India’s biggest threat in the competition, might not be able to beat India. On his YouTube channel, he suggested bringing South Africa to make it an Afro-Asia Cup.
“They can almost include South Africa and make it an Afro-Asia Cup to make the tournament competitive. As it is now, they should probably include an India A side for it to be some contest.”
This might not be a bad idea, and the authorities should bring in more African teams, such as Zimbabwe and Namibia, to help them progress. With more teams, the competition will become slightly even. While India will still remain dominant, a wider purpose will be served, and some of the fixtures can cause upsets.
To maintain the playing level, the tournament should be staged across various countries in Asia and Africa. For teams like the UAE and Oman, this will serve as preparation for different conditions outside the subcontinent, and vice versa. It will accelerate their growth and eventually help the game reach more corners of the world.
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