India captain Suryakumar Yadav was found short of words after his side was denied the Asia Cup 2025 trophy as Asian Cricket Council (ACC) head Mohsin Naqvi high-tailed from the Dubai International Stadium with the trophy. The Indian team put its foot down at the post-match presentation, refusing to take the trophy from Naqvi, who is also the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Interior Minister in the current Pakistan government.
Throughout the eight-team Asia Cup 2025, tempers flared between India and Pakistan, with several flashpoints. From no handshakes to provocative gestures, the contests between the two archrivals witnessed it all. However, the finale experienced arguably the most controversial incident of them all: the post-match presentation was delayed by close to an hour, with organizers running from one corner to another.
According to protocol, the Asia Cup trophy was to be handed out by the ACC chair (Naqvi). However, the Indian camp refused to take the trophy from Naqvi, who has constantly failed to uphold his position at the ACC. He has regularly taken sides and put Pakistan cricket forward.
The ceremony got delayed by 45 minutes, and when it resumed, Naqvi was seen standing on the presentation dias. India’s Kuldeep Yadav and Abhishek Sharma did receive their individual awards; however, broadcaster Simon Doull then closed off the ceremony, saying, “I have been informed by the Asian Cricket Council that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight. So that does conclude the post-match presentation.”
Suryakumar then soon attended the post-match press conference with Abhishek, where he spoke about not receiving the trophy, saying such an incident had never happened to him in his career.
“This is one thing which I have never seen. Since I started playing cricket, I have been following cricket. That a champion team is denied a trophy. That too, a hard earned one. It’s not like it happened easily. But it was a hard-earned victory. We have been here since the 4th, and played a game today. Two back-to-back good games in two days. I feel we deserved it. And I can’t say anything more. I think I have summed it up really well,” the Indian captain told reporters.
“If you tell me about the trophies. My trophies are sitting in my dressing room. All 14 guys are with me. All the support staff. Those are the real trophies. I have been a big fan of these boys throughout this journey of the Asia Cup. Since we came here, we have played this tournament. We started our preparations. I think those are the real trophies. Real moments which I am taking back as lovely memories which will stay with me forever going forward. And that’s all,” he added.
