India's 5 highest run-getters in Asia Cup history ft. Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma

Pakistan kicked off the Asia Cup 2023 in a fabulous way, beating Nepal by a gigantic margin of 238 runs in the inaugural match in Multan on Wednesday, August 30.

Their massive win was a testament to their strong squad. However, they are not the out-and-out favorite to win the competition as their fierce rivals, Team India, also possess some world-class talent and immense experience.

The Men in Blue are also the record holders of the Asia Cup, having won the prestigious tournament seven times. Ever since winning the inaugural edition in 1984, India have put up many dominating performances, with their batters taking charge on most occasions.

As India gear up to start their Asia Cup 2023 campaign against Pakistan on Saturday, September 2, we take a look at the top five highest run-getters for India in the history of the Asia Cup.

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#5 Shikhar Dhawan - 613 runs

Shikhar Dhawan has done really well in multi-national tournaments for India. [Getty Images]

Despite falling out of favor, Shikhar Dhawan has always gotten credit for his spectacular performances in ICC tournaments. However, the southpaw has also fared well for India in the Asia Cup.

He played his first Asia Cup game in 2014 and thus far has featured in 13 games, nine of which have been in the 50-over format. He played only one edition of the T20 format, which was in 2016, where he scored 79 runs across four innings.

In his remaining nine innings in the 50-over format, Dhawan accumulated 534 runs at an average of 59.33, taking his overall Asia Cup tally to 613 runs.

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#4 MS Dhoni - 690 runs

MS Dhoni is the wicketkeeper with the most runs in the Asia Cup. [Getty Images]

One of India's most successful captains, MS Dhoni is fourth on the list with a total of 690 runs in Asia Cup history.

The majority of his runs in the tournament came in the 50-over format. Across 16 ODI innings in Asia Cup, Dhoni mustered 648 runs at an average of 64.80, including three fifties and a hundred.

He also scored 42 runs in the Asia Cup 2016, which was played in the T20 format.

MS Dhoni captained India to a fantastic win in the Asia Cup 2010, which was India's first win in the tournament after a long wait of 15 years.

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#3 Sachin Tendulkar - 971 runs

Sachin Tendulkar is India's highest run-getter in ODI Asia Cups [Getty Images]

Here comes arguably the best batter the sport has ever seen. Sachin Tendulkar is the first player to feature in eight different editions of the Asia Cup.

Tendulkar played all his Asia Cup fixtures in the 50-over format, being India's highest run-getter as far as ODI Asia Cups are concerned.

Across 21 innings, the 'Little Master' accumulated 971 runs at an average of 51.10. He also notched up seven fifties and two hundreds in the tournament, including his historic 100th international ton in 2012.

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#2 Rohit Sharma - 1,016 runs

Rohit Sharma will play his eighth edition of the Asia Cup this time around [Getty Images]

The first player on the list who will feature in the Asia Cup 2023 is Rohit Sharma. The Men in Blue skipper has scored over 1,000 international runs in the history of the continental tournament.

Rohit has played 21 ODI Asia Cup innings, accumulating 745 runs at an average of 46.56, including six half-centuries and a ton.

In T20 Asia Cup matches, Rohit has made 271 runs at an average of 30.11 with three fifties. In total, the Mumbai-based batter has mustered 1,016 runs in the Asia Cup and will play a key role in the ongoing edition as well.

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#1 Virat Kohli - 1,042 runs

Virat Kohli is India's highest run-getter in the Asia Cup [Getty Images]

Topping another run-scoring chart, Virat Kohli is India's highest run-getter in the history of the Asia Cup. The former Indian skipper has hammered 1,042 runs across just 19 innings.

Kohli featured in his first Asia Cup game in 2010 and has so far played only 11 ODI Asia Cup games for India. In those fixtures, the modern-day legend has made 613 runs at an average of 61.30, including one fifty and three fabulous centuries.

As far as the T20 format of the Asia Cup is concerned, the Delhi-born batter has mustered 429 runs at an immaculate average of 85.80 across nine innings.

Kohli top-scored for India in the 2012 and 2016 editions of the Asia Cup and looks to do the same this time around as well.