The Men’s T20I Asia Cup 2025 is set to commence on September 9, with teams from the subcontinent poised to face off in thrilling encounters.
The inaugural edition of the Asia Cup was held in 1984, and the tournament has been held regularly since then. However, with the advent of T20 cricket and a growing preference for the shorter format of the game, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has modified its playing format.
Since 2016, the Asia Cup has been held in One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) formats. This year’s edition will be played in T20I format in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), keeping the next year’s ICC T20I World Cup in mind.
For the first time, the Asia Cup will feature eight teams divided into two groups. The teams featuring in the forthcoming edition are the hosts UAE, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Oman, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong.
Group A features India, Pakistan, UAE, and Oman, while Group B includes Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong.
The event’s opening match will be played between Afghanistan and Hong Kong, and the high-stakes encounter between India and Pakistan is scheduled for 14 September. The events’ matches will be played across two venues, Dubai Cricket Stadium and Abu Dhabi.
As the Asian rivalry heats up again, let’s take a look at the Top five highest wicket takers in the tournament’s history.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The top wicket-taker in Asia Cup T20I history is India’s pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has scalped 13 wickets in six matches at an impressive average of 9.46. The 35-year-old, who is currently not part of India’s plans, is also known for his skillful death and new ball bowling.
During the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Kumar defined death bowling as an instinct.
“Death bowling is like an instinct. It depends on what is the situation of the match and what you are thinking as well,” Bhuvneshwar, the only bowler to have won the Purple Cap in successive seasons – 2016 and 2017 – said. “When there are team meetings, you plan things in a particular way. But a lot of times, you do it differently on the ground, because that instinct kicks in.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has an excellent economy rate of only 5.34 and is the only bowler to take a five-wicket haul in the shorter edition of the tournament.
The right-arm medium pacer’s best figures of 5/4 — also his T20I best — came against Afghanistan in the 2022 edition of the tournament.
Amjad Javed
The second-highest wicket-taker is Amjad Javed of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who has featured only in the 2016 edition of the tournament, where he led the team.
It is remarkable that a player from an Associate nation is in the number two position despite top teams like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, which have a rich history.
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In the only edition he played in this format, he has taken 12 wickets in seven matches at an average of 14.08.
The 45-year-old has a relatively higher economy rate of 7.34 as compared to Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Javed’s best bowling figures in an innings came against Sri Lanka during the inaugural edition of the T20I format of the Asia Cup. The right-arm pacer took three wickets for 25 runs to record his best figures in the marquee tournament.
Mohammad Naveed
The third-highest wicket-taker in the event’s history is also the UAE’s Mohammad Naveed, with 11 wickets to his name in seven matches. Like Amjad Javed, he made only one appearance during the 2016 Asia Cup, where his team advanced after playing qualifying rounds.
The 38-year-old has an excellent average of 13.18 with a reasonable economy rate of 5.24. Naveed’s best bowling figures of 3-14 came against Hong Kong in 2016.
With his bowling performance, the UAE restricted Hong Kong to 146-7 in their 20 overs. In reply, the UAE successfully chased down the total and won by nine wickets.
Rashid Khan
The number four on the Men’s Asia Cup highest-wicket takers in the T20I edition is none other than Afghanistan spin wizard Rashid Khan.
Rashid, who has taken 161 wickets in just 96 T20Is for Afghanistan and is the leading wicket taker in T20 cricket, is unlikely to be fourth on the list by his standards. He has so far taken 11 wickets despite playing eight matches, a number higher than all the top three bowlers.
The 26-year-old has revealed his mantra in the shorter format of the game while containing the batters.
“If someone is going after me, I’m going to make it super hard for him. If he still hits it, it’s a good shot. But I won’t ease down [on creating the pressure]. It’s more about making things harder and harder for the batter.”
The leg-spinner has an average of 18.36 and boasts a slightly higher economy rate of 6.51. His best figures of 3-22 came against Bangladesh in 2022, resulting in a thrilling victory over the Tigers.
Hardik Pandya
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is fifth on the list of highest-wicket takers in the marquee tournament. The Gujarat-born pacer is key to India’s recent success, thanks to his power hitting and useful bowling in the middle overs.
The right-arm pacer has scalped 11 wickets in eight matches so far, with an average of 18.81 and the highest economy rate of (7.01) among the top five bowlers. Notably, his best figures of 3-8 against arch-rivals Pakistan during the 2016 edition.
Thanks to Hardik Pandya’s bowling, India bundled out Pakistan for a modest total of 83 and successfully chased it down in 15.3 overs.
The Asia Cup 2025 is likely to be the most competitive yet, largely due to the rapid growth of T20 cricket and the adaptability of batters. With modern-day batters and a format dominated by power-hitting and high-run rates, these bowlers have stood out and contained the batters under pressure.
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