Picking the best Asian Men's T20I playing 11 of all time ft. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli

Asian sides have enjoyed playing the T20 format ever since its inception in international cricket in 2005. India, under MS Dhoni, won the inaugural T20 World Cup held in South Africa, while Pakistan won the second edition of the ICC event, which took place in England. Sri Lanka won their first T20 World Cup by beating India in the final in Dhaka in 2014.

The Men in Blue, who are the defending champions in the T20 World Cup, have played 242 matches so far in the format, winning 160 and losing 70. Six games ended in a tie, while six others produced no result. Among the other Asian sides, Afghanistan have won 86 of 141 games, and Pakistan 144 out of 253. While Sri Lanka have tasted 90 wins in 203 games, Bangladesh have 71 from 182.

There have been some wonderful individual performances from players belonging to Asian countries in T20Is. On that note, we try and put together the best Asian Men's T20I playing XI of all time.

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Openers: Rohit Sharma (c) and Mohammad Rizwan (wk)

India's Rohit Sharma and Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan would be the openers in the best Asian Men's T20I playing XI of all time. While Rohit would lead the team, Rizwan would perform the duties of keeper-batter.

Rohit, who retired from T20Is after the Men in Blue's triumph in the 2024 T20 World Cup, ended his career with 4,231 runs from 159 matches. The 37-year-old averaged 32.05 at an impressive strike rate of 140.89, with as many as five hundreds and 32 fifties. The right-handed batter jointly holds the record for most tons in T20Is with Glenn Maxwell, who has five centuries from 116 games.

Rizwan has so far featured in 106 T20Is and has scored 3,414 runs at an average of 47.41 and a strike rate of 125.37, with the aid of one hundred and as many as 30 half-centuries. The 32-year-old smashed 104* off 64 balls against South Africa in Lahore in February 2021. The blazing knock featured six fours and seven sixes.

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Middle order & all-rounders: Babar Azam, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shakib Al Hasan, Wanindu Hasaranga and Rashid Khan

Suryakumar Yadav has an exceptional record in T20Is. (Image Credits: Getty Images)

Either Babar Azam or Virat Kohli could occupy the No. 3 slot depending on the team situation. Babar has 4,223 runs from 128 matches at an average of 39.83 and a strike rate of 129.22, with three hundreds and 36 fifties. His highest T20I score of 122 was registered against South Africa in Centurion in April 2021.

Like Rohit, Kohli also retired from T20Is after India's World Cup triumph. He was the Player of the Match in the final against South Africa for top-scoring with 76 off 59 balls. The 36-year-old ended his T20I career with 4,188 runs from 125 matches at an average of 48.69 and a strike rate of 137.04, with one ton and 38 fifties. His best of 122* came off 61 balls against Afghanistan in September 2022.

Team India's current T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav was an easy choice in the best Asian Men's T20I playing XI of all time. Following a belated international debut, he took the cricket world by storm with some stunning batting performances. In 78 matches, he has smacked 2,570 runs at an average of 40.79 and an excellent strike rate of 167.86, with the aid of four tons and 21 fifties.

Three high-quality all-rounders - Shakib Al Hasan, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Rashid Khan - feature in the best Asian Men's T20I playing XI of all time. Each of them can win matches with bat and ball. Shakib ended his T20I career with 149 wickets and 2,551 runs from 129 games. Hasaranga has 131 scalps and 712 runs from 79 matches. Rashid has 161 wickets and 467 runs from 96 games.

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Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mustafizur Rahman and Lasith Malinga

Bangladesh left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman (Image Credits: Getty Images)

India's Jasprit Bumrah, Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman, and Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga would be the pace bowling trio in the best Asian Men's T20I playing XI of all time. All three possess terrific records in the T20I format.

Bumrah has featured in 70 matches and has claimed 89 wickets at an average of 17.74 and an economy rate of 6.27. As for Mustafizur, the left-arm seamer has 132 wickets from 106 matches at an average of 21.62 and an economy rate of 7.51. Malinga ended his T20I career with 107 wickets from 84 matches at an average of 20.79 and an economy rate of 7.42.