MS Dhoni's Unrivaled Asia Cup Legacy: A Captaincy Record in Both ODI and T20I Formats

NEW DELHI: India’s dominance in the Asia Cup has been shaped by legendary captains, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni standing apart as the only skipper to lift the trophy in both formats — ODI and T20I. Under Dhoni’s leadership, India clinched the 2010 edition in the ODI format by defeating Sri Lanka by 81 runs in the final. Six years later, he guided the team to another title, this time in the 2016 T20I edition, beating Bangladesh by 8 wickets in the final.While Dhoni’s achievement remains unique, Mohammad Azharuddin and Rohit Sharma also hold the distinction of winning the tournament twice as captains, though only in ODIs. Azharuddin’s side overcame Sri Lanka by 7 wickets in the 1990 edition and repeated the feat in 1995, once again beating the same opponents in the title clash. Rohit’s successes came more recently. In 2018, he led India to a nail-biting 3-wicket win against Bangladesh in the final. He followed it up in 2023 with a dominant 10-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the summit clash.Overall, India have been crowned Asia Cup champions a record eight times — the most by any team in the tournament’s history. The list of Indian captains who have lifted the trophy reflects the country’s cricketing pedigree: Sunil Gavaskar (1984), Dilip Vengsarkar (1988), Azharuddin (1990, 1995), Dhoni (2010, 2016), and Rohit (2018, 2023).This time, Suryakumar Yadav will lead India as they begin their Asia Cup 2025 campaign on September 10 against hosts UAE in Dubai. The highly anticipated clash with Pakistan follows on September 14 at the same venue, before India take on Oman in their final group-stage match in Abu Dhabi.