Why Asia Cup Keeps Changing Formats Between ODI And T20I

Rajgeeta Yadav

Asia Cup 2025 [Source: @ACCMedia1/X.com]Asia Cup 2025 [Source: @ACCMedia1/X.com]

The Asia Cup 2025 is scheduled to take place in September, and according to sources in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), the Indian cricket board will host the tournament. It will be played in the T20I format and held in the United Arab Emirates. A formal announcement is expected soon.

The Asia Cup is a cricket tournament held every two years to decide the best team in Asia. The first Asia Cup was played in 1984 in Sharjah, UAE, where the ACC was based until 1995. However, the tournament has had its fair share of political tensions, India didn’t participate in 1986 due to issues with Sri Lanka, and Pakistan skipped the 1990-91 edition due to strained relations with India.

Since 2009, Asia Cup has been held every two years. All matches played in the tournament are recognised as official One Day Internationals (ODIs) by the International Cricket Council (ICC). But in recent years, the format has changed between ODIs and T20Is, and many fans wonder why.

Why Does Asia Cup Keep Switching Between Different Formats?

In 2015, the Asian Cricket Council was downsized, and the ICC decided to rotate the format of the Asia Cup between ODI and T20I formats. This change was made to help teams prepare better for the upcoming global tournaments. If a T20 World Cup was coming up, the Asia Cup would be played in the T20 format. If a 50-over World Cup was next, it would be played as an ODI tournament.

That’s why the 2016 Asia Cup was played in the T20 format, it served as a warm-up for the 2016 T20 World Cup. Since then, the format has been rotating depending on the ICC’s calendar. 

Who Has Been Most Successful In Asia Cup?

India have been the most successful team in Asia Cup history. The Men in Blue have won eight titles, seven in the ODI format and one in T20I. Sri Lanka come next with six titles, while Pakistan have won it twice.