With India crowned champions for the seventh time on Friday night, the 14th edition of the Asia Cup didn’t fail to disappoint with plenty of drama on the field.
With the competition done and dusted, we take a look at those who didn’t have the best of tournaments.
BIGGEST FLOP
FAKHAR ZAMAN (PAKISTAN)
The 28-year-old arrived in the UAE as one of Pakistan’s in-form batsmen having enjoyed a solid ODI series against Zimbabwe in July. During the five-match series, he was unstoppable and became the first Pakistani to score a double ODI ton with his unbeaten 210. But the opening batsman had a nightmare in the Emirates as he failed to reproduce that form. In his five innings, his top-score was 31 and twice was out for a duck against Afghanistan and India.
WORTHY MENTIONS
SRI LANKA
The Islanders have some fond memories of the Asia Cup having won the title on five occasions but this year’s edition was a total disaster. Having been grouped alongside Afghanistan and Bangladesh, it would have given Lanka belief that they had a decent chance of reaching the Super Four stage. But two straight defeats and an overall run-rate of -2.280 – worse than qualifiers Hong Kong – told the whole story of their shambles. Not the force they once were.
A tournament to forget for Sri Lanka
MOHAMMAD AMIR (PAKISTAN)
The signs were already there when he just picked up one wicket in three outings against Zimbabwe but given his talent, many would have expected him to bounce back. That wasn’t the case as he finished the tournament wicketless in three matches.