A Brief History of The Asia Cup
The Asia Cup was established in 1983 by the Asian Cricket Council which was founded to promote the goodwill between Asian nations. This council had its offices at UAE and that is why the first ever Asia Cup was played in Sharjah, UAE.
Timeline:
1984: India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan were the participant teams. India won the inaugural edition of the Asia Cup beating Sri Lanka and Pakistan. It was a Round-Robin tournament.
1986: India boycotted this tournament held in Sri Lanka due to deteriorating relations with Sri Lanka. So, it was played between SL, Bangladesh, Pakistan. Sri Lanka won the tournament beating Pakistan in the final.
1988: It was held in Bangladesh and for the first time more than 3 teams took part. India beat Sri Lanka in the final.
1990: This edition of the Asia Cup was held in India but Pakistan boycotted it due to strained relations with India then. India retained the cup beating Sri Lanka in the final.
1993: The tournament was canceled due to poor political relations between India and Pakistan.
1995: India beat Sri Lanka for the third time to win the Asia Cup held in Sharjah, UAE.
1997: It was held in Sri Lanka and the host nation beat India in the final.
2000: This edition was held in Bangladesh and Pakistan won its first ever title by beating Sri Lanka in the final.
2004: For the first time UAE and Hong Kong took part in the competition that was held in Sri Lanka. Teams were divided into groups for the first time. Sri Lanka defeated India in the final to clinch their third title.
2008: Held in Pakistan, it saw Sri Lanka win its fourth title by beating India comprehensively in the finals.
2010: Only Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka took part in this edition which was held in Sri Lanka. In the final, India beat Sri Lanka to be crowned champions for the fifth time.
2012: Pakistan won the tournament for just the second time beating Bangladesh in last over of the final.
2014: Afghanistan took part for the very first time in the Asia Cup. Sri Lanka won the tournament for the fifth time beating Pakistan.
2016: The tournament was played in a T20I format for the first time since its inception. India won the tournament beating Bangladesh for the Sixth time.
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