In an attempt to foster close ties between the Asian countries, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) was established in 1983. The first tournament of Asia Cup was played the subsequent year in the city of Sharjah in UAE. 34 years ago, India lifted the trophy of the inaugural Asia Cup title.
The 2018 tournament will commence from 15 September, where India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and qualifiers champion Hong Kong will face each other to bag the coveted Asia Cup title.
As the cricket carnival is all set to commence in the Middle East, let us revisit the history of Asia Cup right from 1984 to 2016:
1984 – Maiden Asia Cup Held in UAE’s Sharjah
The first edition of the Asia Cup, called the Rothmans Asia Cup was a round-robin tournament held between 6 and 13 April at Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. A total of three teams took part: India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The matches were held at the location of the newly-formed Asian Cricket Council where each team played the other three once each, and the top two teams qualified for a place in the final.
India won the inaugural cup by winning all three of its matches. Sri Lanka came in second while Pakistan lost both its matches.
1986 – 2nd Asia Cup Tournament Held in Sri Lanka
The 1986 Asia Cup, also known as the John Player Gold Leaf Trophy, was the second Asia Cup tournament held between 30 March and 6 April in Sri Lanka. Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were the three teams that took part in the tournament.
Defending champions India did not participate due to strained relationships with their southern neighbors Sri Lanka. Bangladesh, which had qualified by winning the 1984 South-East Asia Cup, had replaced India. Sri Lanka clinched the tournament by beating Pakistan in the final.
1988 – Bangladesh Host Wills Asia Cup
The third Asia Cup tournament was held in Bangladesh between 26 October and 4 November 1988. It was the nation’s first multi-national cricket tournament. Along with the host nation, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka participated in the tournament.
India and Sri Lanka were the top two contenders for the third edition. India finally defeated Sri Lanka by 6 wickets to win its second Asia Cup.
1990-91 – India Host 4th Asia Cup
India hosted the fourth Asia Cup tournament in 1990-91 between 25 December 1990 and 4 January 1991. In this edition of the round-robin tournament, three teams took part: India, Sri Lanka and Asian leading associate member Bangladesh, after Pakistan withdrew participation due to strained political relations with India.
India and Sri Lanka qualified for the final in which the former beat its neighbour by 7 wickets to win its second consecutive Asia Cup.