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New Delhi: Suryakumar Yadav-led India declined to accept the Asia Cup 2025 trophy following their thrilling five-wicket win over Pakistan in Sunday’s final in Dubai. The presentation ceremony, delayed by over an hour, became controversial as the trophy was scheduled to be handed over by Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi, who also serves as PCB chairman and Pakistan’s Interior Minister.
“We have decided not to take the Asia Cup trophy from the ACC chairman, who happens to be one of the main leaders of Pakistan,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told ANI. “So we decided not to take it from him. But that does not mean that the gentleman will take away the trophy with him, along with the medals. So it is very unfortunate and we hope that the trophy and the medals will be returned to India as soon as possible.
“There is an ICC conference in November in Dubai. In the next conference, we are going to launch a very serious and very strong protest against the act of the ACC chairperson.”
The match ended around 10:30 pm Dubai time with a dramatic last-over finish, but the presentation was pushed close to midnight. At first, it was unclear why the delay occurred, though speculation suggested that the team India was unwilling to accept the trophy from Naqvi. An announcement on the ACC’s website a day earlier had mentioned that Naqvi would present the trophy to the champions.
When the presentation ceremony finally took place, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma collected their individual awards from other dignitaries on stage, and Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha received the runners-up cheque from Naqvi, following which the ceremony ended.
“I have been informed by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight,” Simon Doull, the presenter for the host broadcaster, said at the ceremony. “So that does conclude the post-match presentation.”
Speaking at the post-presentation press conference Suryakumar Yadav opened up and said that he never witnessed anything like it before, “I think this is one thing which I have never seen since I started playing cricket, started following cricket, that a champion team is denied a trophy, that too a hard earned one. I feel we deserved it. I can’t say anything more, I’ve summed it up really well. If you tell me about trophies, my trophies are sitting in the dressing room, all the 14 guys with me, the support staff, those are the real trophies throughout this journey in the Asia Cup.”
Suryakumar also said that the team had decided that they won’t accept the trophy, and “no one told us to do it”
After the match, Pakistan’s players walked off straight to the dressing room, while the Indian team stayed back on the field. The presentation stage wasn’t put up for a long while, and eventually Naqvi arrived, engaging in lengthy discussions with officials on the ground. By then, the crowd had started to leave the stadium, though a large section of Indian fans continued to wait.
After almost an hour, the stage was finally prepared, with Naqvi and other dignitaries taking their positions. An official took the Asia Cup trophy from its platform and walked off the field without giving any explanation. The Pakistan team appeared shortly before the ceremony, led by Doull, began.
The Indian players collected their individual award without acknowledging Naqvi, instead receiving their awards from other officials. Naqvi, in turn, did not applaud the Indian players as they accepted their awards.
The Pakistan players collected their runner-up medals, with captain Agha accepting the cheque and posing for photos along with Naqvi. Once post-match interviews with Doull ended, the dignitaries exited the stage. The Indian team and officials then stepped onto the podium to celebrate their win. Without the actual trophy present, Suryakumar and his teammates mimicked holding one, raising an imaginary trophy as part of their celebration.
India’s decision to not accept the trophy from Naqvi had been anticipated beforehand. Throughout the tournament, India avoided shaking hands with Pakistan during the toss or after any of the three matches. Although Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson and captain Agha slammed India for their move, it remained unchanged.
Tensions escalated between India and Pakistan particularly during the second Super Fours match, leading to multiple verbal exchanges between the teams. Suryakumar was fined for comments made after the first game, and Haris Rauf faced penalties for his conduct in the second.
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