The 2025 Asia Cup will be played in the T20 format due to the 2026 World Cup, scheduled to played early next. The continental tournament used to be played in a 50-over format.
In 2016, the ACC staged the tournament in T20 format to give the teams a platform to prepare for the T20 World Cup. The T20 format made its return in 2022. Once again, the Asian teams will lock horns in the shortest format for the coveted trophy. India, who will enter the tournament as the defending champions, will be without the services of their highest T20 run-scorer in the UAE.
No, it’s not Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Both have now retired from the shortest format. Both former India T20I captains quit the shortest format after winning the 2024 World Cup.
Who has most T20 runs for India in UAE?
KL Rahul tops the list of Indian batsmen with the most T20 runs in UAE. The former India vice-captain has scored 1409 runs in 34 innings in UAE. The tally includes the runs he has scored in IPL there. IPL 2020 was completely played in UAE, while the second phase of IPL 2021 was shifted to UAE. Rahul won the Orange Cap in IPL 2020 for piling up 670 runs in 14 matches.
Virat, who has played 36 T20 innings in UAE, has 1122 runs. He captained India in the 2021 T20 World Cup, which was played in UAE. India put on a below-par show and failed to make it to the semi-finals.
Rohit has scored 854 runs in 32 innings in UAE. While he hasn’t scored many runs there, Rohit captained Mumbai Indians (MI) to their fifth IPL title win in UAE in 2020. Rohit-led MI defeated Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2020 final. Suryakumar Yadav, who will lead India in the 2025 Asia Cup, has 915 runs in 35 innings in UAE.