The Asia Cup started in 1984, and in the same year, India's Surinder Khanna won the first Player of the Tournament title with his brilliant batting. After this, in 1986, Sri Lanka's charismatic captain Arjun Ranatunga won this honour with his batting display. Then, in 1988, India's aggressive batsman Navjot Singh Sidhu won this award with his consistent innings. Interestingly, no player was given this title in the 1990/91 tournament.

With time, the importance of this title increased further. In 1995, once again, India's Navjot Singh Sidhu proved himself and became Player of the Tournament for the second time. Two years later, in 1997, Sri Lanka's Arjun Ranatunga also achieved this feat for the second time and showed his ability again. After this, in 2000, Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf impressed everyone with his brilliant batting. In 2004, Sri Lanka's legendary Sanath Jayasuriya received this award for his dashing batting and all-round play.

Memorable stars of the modern era

In 2008, Sri Lanka's young spinner Ajantha Mendis won this title by surprising everyone with his mysterious bowling. In 2010, Pakistan's all-rounder Shahid Afridi won everyone's hearts with his aggressive batting. After this, in 2012, Bangladesh's Shakib al Hasan won this honour by performing brilliantly with both bat and ball. In 2014, Sri Lanka's Lahiru Thirimanne played an important role in the team's victory with his batting performances. In 2016, Bangladesh's Sabbir Rahman left his strong mark on this tournament.

This tradition continued in recent years as well. In 2018, India's Shikhar Dhawan performed decisively in big matches with his bat. In 2022, Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga won the title for the team with his all-round performance. And then in 2023, India's spinner Kuldeep Yadav won this honour with his sensational bowling display.

Kuldeep Yadav is currently in the golden phase of his career, and if he maintains his rhythm and confidence, then he will have a great chance to create history again in the 2025 Asia Cup.