5 Indians with most runs in Asia Cup

Having started in 1984 and still going strong, the Asia Cup is one of the major cricket tournaments to be played amongst cricketing nations of Asia. The tournament is played in the ODI format, barring the 2016 edition, which was played in the T20 version because of the World T20 that followed it.

The 14th edition of the Asia Cup is scheduled to start in the United Arab Emirates from September 15. The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in India but was shifted out of the country in April, owing to the political scenario between India and Pakistan.

India has been the most successful side in the tournament, winning six titles, and are closely followed by Sri Lanka, who have five. However, one of India's wins came in 2016, in the T20I format.

Here are five players who have scored the most runs for Indian in Asia Cups:

Note: The list does not include statistics from the 2016 edition, which was held in the T20 format.

#5 Suresh Raina (547 runs)

Raina celebrates his century against Bangladesh in 2008

The 30-year-old Raina has not been included in the 16-member squad for the 2018 edition, despite returning to the ODI setup in the recent series against ODI. Before the England tour, Raina hadn't played an ODI for India since 2015 but had been used sporadically in the T20 version.

The southpaw has played three editions (2008, 2010, 2012) and had a rollicking start to the tournament, hitting 101 against a hapless Hong Kong side in Karachi. He followed it with an 84, and an unbeaten 116, in the next two games against Pakistan and Bangladesh respectively.

Over the next 10 innings and across three editions, Raina managed only two fifties, and could not make the cut for the 2014 Asia Cup, with Cheteshwar Pujara making it to the squad ahead of him.

#4 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (571 runs)

Dhoni against Pakistan in the 2008 Asia Cup

Dhoni's first Asia Cup was in 2008, as captain, and he shone on his very first game, blasting an unbeaten 106 off just 96 balls against minnows Hong Kong. He's also scored three fifties across three seasons (2008, 2010 and 2012).

From 13 matches, Dhoni averages a whopping 95.16, his last game being in 2012. He was named captain for the 2014 edition, but was ruled out just before the tournament due to a side strain and Virat Kohli was named captain.

He will play under Rohit Sharma in the 2018 Asia Cup, with Dinesh Karthik being the backup keeper in the team.

#3 Gautam Gambhir (573 runs)

Gautam Gambhir playing against Sri Lanka in 2012

India's 2011 World Cup winner is third on the list, having enjoyed a consistent run in Asia Cup games between 2008 and 2012. He scored one century and as many as five fifties in 13 games, averaging just over 44.

A 90 against Bangladesh in 2008, and back-to-back 80s against Bangladesh and Pakistan in 2010 were some of his most notable contributions, before he slammed a 100 against Sri Lanka in March 2012.

His final Asia Cup game was against Pakistan in March 2012, where he fell for a two-ball duck. It was incidentally Sachin Tendulkar's last ODI game.

#2 Virat Kohli (613 runs)

Kohli with Sachin in the 2012 Asia Cup

Unsurprisingly, Kohli is one of the leading run-getters for India in a multi-team tournament, scoring over 600 runs from 2010 to 2014. He has scored as many as three hundreds in the tournament, averaging over 61 with a strike-rate of close to 100.

After four starts in 2010 where he failed to get past 30 even once, Kohli started off 2010 on the right note, hitting a century against Sri Lanka at Dhaka. He ended the tournament with a bang, shattering the Pakistani bowling attack on his way to a career-best 183, which is still his highest ODI score.

The 2014 edition was also a fruitful one for him, with a 136 against Bangladesh and a 48 against Sri Lanka in the next game. Rested from the upcoming edition, Kohli will have to wait before adding runs to his tally.

#1 Sachin Tendulkar (971 runs)

Sachin celebrates his 100th hundred during the 2012 Asia Cup

The undisputed champion at the top of the list, Sachin played as many as six editions of the Asia Cup, from 1990-91 to 2012. He amassed close to 1000 runs in the tournament from 23 games, hitting two hundreds and seven fifties and averaging over 51.

His final ODI series was the 2012 Asia Cup, where he finally reached his hundredth international century, against Bangladesh. Before that, his previous century in an Asia Cup game was way back in 1995, an unbeaten 112 against Sri Lanka at Sharjah.

His last ODI game for India was against Pakistan in 2012, where he scored 52 before getting out to Saeed Ajmal.