Social media’s most popular Asian cricket teams

After a four-year hiatus, the Asian Cup will return in August or September of this year under the One Day Internationals (ODI) format. As the winner of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2023 final against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nepal will this time compete in the continental event for the first time.

Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh are in Group B, while India, Pakistan, and Nepal are in Group A. Fans of cricket can expect a lot of fun from the competition. People in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan have always supported their particular teams, and evidence of this can be found in the social media fan bases for these groups.

Here are the Asian teams based on their social media following

1. Afghanistan- More than 3.3 million followers

Afghanistan has played in international cricket competitions since 2009, and in those 14 years, they have advanced noticeably thanks to their outstanding performance in white-ball cricket. Under Mohamad Nabi’s captaincy, the Afghan team participated in the Asia Cup for the first time in 2014 and defeated Bangladesh.

In the group stage of the 2018 Asia Cup, they defeated Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and advanced to the Super Four stage. They didn’t win any games in the Super Four phase, but they gave India a tough fight and tied the game with their outstanding bowling and batting performances.

On social media, Afghanistan has a large following thanks to their respectable results in ODIs and T20Is. Three million people follow them on Facebook, and 322 thousand people follow them on Instagram. Additionally, they have 705k followers on Twitter.

2. Sri Lanka- More than 5 million followers

With six titles, Sri Lanka is both the defending champion and the second-most successful team in Asia Cup history. In 1986, they hosted the Asia Cup and took home their first trophy after defeating Pakistan in Colombo’s championship game. Sri Lanka’s performance has declined since the 2015 World Cup, but eight years later, in 2022, they won the Asia Cup.

They will work to play with confidence in the next Asia Cup in order to successfully defend their championship. Sri Lanka’s biggest task will be taking against the tournament favorites India and Pakistan because this year’s Asia Cup will be played in the ODI format, unlike the previous one.

Speaking of the fans of the six-time Asian champions on social media, they have more than five million followers, including 3.8 million on Facebook, 1.2 million on Twitter, and 367k on Instagram.

3. Bangladesh- More than 20.1 million followers

When Bangladesh first competed in the Asia Cup in 1986, they won just seven games and lost 36. Since then, they have played 43 games in the illustrious competition. Despite these unimpressive stats and data, they have more than 20 million followers on social media, even though they have yet to win the tournament’s first title.

They now have 14 million Facebook fans, and 3.5 million Twitter users are following their Bangladesh Cricket profile. They are well-known on Instagram as well as these two social media sites. 2.6 million people have backed the Bangla squad on the 13-year-old social media platform.

Bangladesh’s performance in white-ball cricket has significantly improved after the 2012 Asia Cup. They first made it to the finals of the Asia Cup in 2012, where they lost to Pakistan and finished their season as runners-up. They came in second place in the tournaments held in 2016 and 2018, losing both times to India.

4. Pakistan- More than 20.7 million followers

Pakistan has won a few trophies, making them the third most successful team in the Asia Cup. At the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka in 2000, they defeated Sri Lanka to win the title for the first time. They lost the following three tournaments after winning the inaugural championship.

At Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur in 2012, they narrowly defeated Bangladesh by two runs to win their second championship. They were able to advance to the final in 2014 and 2022, but they failed to take use of their chances, finishing the tournament as runners-up after losing to Sri Lanka.

They have more than 20.7 million supporters across their social media accounts, including 12 million Facebook fans, 6.2 million Twitter followers, and 2.5 million Instagram followers, making them the second-most popular Asian team.

5. India- More than 79.7 million followers

With seven titles won so far, India is the most successful team in the Asia Cup. Under Sunil Gavaskar’s leadership, they won their first trophy in the competition’s first year, in 1984. When they defeated Bangladesh at the Dubai International Stadium during the 2018 tournament, it marked their final victory in the competition.

With 31 wins and 16 losses in 49 games, they have a success rate in the tournament of 63.26%, placing them in second place right now. With more than 79.7 million supporters worldwide, India is the cricket team that is most popular on social media.

They each have 29 million followers on Facebook and Instagram, whereas they each have 21.7 million followers on Twitter. No Asian cricket team, with as many followers, comes close to matching the popularity of the Indian cricket squad on social media.