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The Asia Cup is around the corner. Asia, being the biggest continent, has 5 of the 12 full members of the International Cricket Council.
I think this would be a great time to take a look at the history of these nations.
(The slideshow chronicles the major Asian cricketing nations. As such, the UAE and Hong Kong miss out.)
#1 India
Cricket was introduced in India by European merchant sailors in the 18th century. However, it was only in 1926 that India was invited to the ICC, then called the Imperial Cricket Conference thus becoming and became the first Asian, and the sixth team (behind England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and West Indies) overall to be granted Test status in 1932.
India recorded their first Test victory in its 24th Test which came against England at Madras and won their first series against Pakistan (more on them later!) the same year. Since those humble beginnings, India has gone on to become a powerhouse and is currently ranked number one in the world.
India made its debut in limited overs cricket on their 1974 tour to England, playing their first 50 overs match against the hosts on 13th July. India was the first country besides the West Indies and the first Asian country to win the World Cup, doing so in 1983. India is also the only Asian country to win two 50 Over World Cups, winning the 2011 edition of the tournament, which they co-hosted with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
India was the last of the recognised teams to play the shortest version of the game, making their T20 debut on 1st December 2006 against South Africa. They won the inaugural version of the T20 World Cup in 2007, beating Pakistan in one of the most thrilling Final over finishes in world Cricket.
India is also the home for arguably the most exciting and certainly the most lucrative T20 tournament in the world - the Indian Premier League.
They are also the most successful team in the Asia Cup having won it 6 times (5 times in ODI format and once in the T20 format).
As on the date of writing, India is ranked numero uno in Tests, 2nd in ODIs and T20Is.
#2 Pakistan
Pakistan was granted Test status in 1952 following a recommendation by India and played its first Test match in 1952 against India at Delhi. Pakistan then hosted India in its first home series at Dacca (now Dhaka, Bangladesh) in 1955.
They made their limited-overs debut against New Zealand at Christchurch on 11th February 1973 and won the 1992 edition of the limited-overs World Cup hosted by Australia and New Zealand, defeating England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This was the first World Cup to feature coloured clothing, the first to be held in the southern hemisphere. Pakistan was the runners-up in the 1999 edition, losing to Australia at Lord's after being reduced to a paltry total.
They played their first T20I match against England at Bristol on 28th August 2006. Having been beaten by India in the first T20 World Cup final at Johannesburg in 2007, Pakistan won the second edition of the ICC T20 World Cup beating Sri Lanka
Pakistan has won the Asia Cup twice (2000 and 2012).
As on the date of writing, Pakistan is ranked 7th in Tests, 5th in ODIs and 1st In T20Is.
#3 Sri Lanka
Cricket was introduced in Sri Lanka by the British in 1832. Sri Lanka played its first unofficial First Class match in 1926 but has to wait until 1981 to be granted Test status. They played their first Test against England in 1982 at the P.Sara Oval (PSS) in Colombo and recorded their first Test victory by defeating India at the PSS in 1985. They won their first overseas Test match defeating New Zealand at Napier in 1995.
Sri Lanka Played its first ODI at Old Trafford, Manchester in the 1975 World Cup against eventual champions West Indies. It was at the same ground in the next edition of the World Cup that Sri Lanka won its first limited overs match against India in 1979. They pulled off a stunning victory against favourites Australia in the final of the 1996 World Cup at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and reached another two World Cup finals in 2007 and 2011, losing to Australia and India respectively.
Sri Lanka played its first T20I against England in 2006 at the Rose Bowl and have reached the World T20 Finals thrice, winning once in 2014 against favourites India at Colombo.
Sri Lanka has won the Asia Cup five times, all in the 50 overs format, a record it shares with India.
As of the date of writing, Sri Lanka is ranked 6th in Tests, 8th in ODIs and 9th In T20Is.
#4 Bangladesh
Prior to the Bangladeshi declaration of independence from Pakistan in 1971, many East Pakistani teams played first-class matches against their counterparts in the West. However, Bangladesh had to wait until the year 2000 to play their first Test, when they hosted India in Dhaka. Bangladesh won its first Test match against a depleted Zimbabwe side at Chittagong in 2005.
When India boycotted the 1986 edition of the Asia Cup, Bangladesh was invited to play Sri Lanka and Pakistan, making its ODI debut in the process. Bangladesh won its first ODI in the year 1998 against Kenya, thus ending a losing streak of 22 matches. They played their first World Cup in 1999, recording memorable wins against eventual runners-up Pakistan and Scotland.
The Tigers played their first T20I against Zimbabwe at Khulna, Bangladesh in 2006. They have played in all editions of the World T20s. Despite playing some exciting Cricket at times, they have never been able to an impact and reaching the second round remains its best performance.
Bangladesh reached the final of the 2012 Asia Cup losing to Pakistan in the final which turned out to be a last over thriller.
As on the date of writing, they are ranked 9th in Tests, 7th in ODIs and 10th in T20Is.
#5 Afghanistan
The earliest record of cricket in Afghanistan is of the British troops playing a match in Kabul in 1839. However, Cricket did not attract the attention of the Afghani populace until the 1990s. Cricket became popular amongst the Afghani refugees living in Pakistan and it was from here that the love for the sport eventually spread to Afghanistan. Initially, the Taliban, like it did to all other sports, banned Cricket. However, in 2000, it made an exception and lifted the ban on Cricket thus making the gentleman's game the only sport in Afghanistan to be approved by the Taliban. Irony?
After nearly a decade of playing international cricket, Afghanistan was granted Test status in 2017 and played its first Test against India in Bengaluru in 2018.
They played their first ODI against Scotland at Benoni, South Africa in 2009, which they won. Since then, the team has made enormous strides in the format, qualifying for the 2015 World Cup and winning its first match in the tournament, beating Scotland. The Afghans won their first ODI series against Zimbabwe in 2016.
Afghanistan made its T20I debut in 2010 at the PSS in Colombo against Ireland. Since 2012, they have qualified for every edition of the World T20, famously beating eventual champions West Indies in a group game, the only team in the tournament to do so.
Afghanistan made its Asia Cup debut in 2014 but failed to qualify in 2016.
As on the date of writing, they ranked 10th in ODIs and 8th in T20Is, remarkably ahead of full members Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Ireland.
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