The Asia Cup has now concluded. India continued their dominance throughout the tournament by winning it. They defeated their arch rivals, Pakistan, by 5 wickets. Unfortunately, people weren't talking about the match afterwards. Instead, the focus was on the trophy not being presented to India.
Right from the group stage match, India maintained a distance from Pakistan players in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. Suryakumar' side refused to shake hands with the opponents in both the group stage and the Super 4s encounter. This led to PCB chairman Naqvi complaining to the ICC about India and match referee Andy Pycroft's behaviour.
Naqvi didn't stop there as he posted some objectionable videos on X, mocking India by referencing Pakistan's claims of bringing down Indian fighter jets during Operation Sindoor.
According to the Indian Express, the Indian camp didn't want to accept and take the trophy from Naqvi due to the Pakistan Interior Minister reposting several images on social media, including Cristiano Ronaldo's clip depicting a crashing plane.
Naqvi also posted a picture titled, "Final Day," featuring captain, Salman Ali Agha and pacer, Shaheen Shah Afridi, wearing flight suits with snapshots of airborne fighter jets in the background.
The Indian camp, led by Suryakumar, was ready to take the trophy from Vice Chairman of the Emirates Cricket Board, Khalid Al Zarooni, but Naqvi refused to budge. He stuck to his stand of giving away the trophy.
As the delay dragged on and the ceremony was delayed by 45 minutes, officials took the trophy away. Abhishek Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav and Tilak Varma picked up their individual awards but the ceremony concluded prematurely. Naqvi then walked off the stadium, seemingly taking the Asia Cup trophy to his hotel room.
Speaking of more details about the post-match presentation, the organisers erected the dias almost 20 minutes after Rinku Singh hit the winning runs for India. The Indian camp was seen scattered on one part of the ground and the officials were seen trying to resolve the issue.
On-field umpires and match referee, Richie Richardson, also did their round of negotiations but it didn't bear fruit. The crowd also walked off the stadium and only a few remained to see Abhishek and Tilak speak to Simon Doull.
Like the previous two fixtures, the finale, too, was unfolded with several controversies. While there were tensions, strained relations, gestures, no handshakes in the final; the Indian team were also denied of the trophy and winners medals; bringing in new controversy amid the ongoing strained relations. However, there were speculations of Team India not collecting the trophy from PCB and ACC Chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, the latterâs act has also hit the headlines.
After refraining to accept the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, the latter reportedly took away the trophy. The same was confirmed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary, Devajit Saikia. Speaking to the media after the conclusion of the continental tournament in Dubai, Saika slammed Naqvi while clarifying that India had already informed that they wouldn't accept the trophy from the PCB president.
After the Indian team refused to collect the trophy from Naqvi, the ACC President left the dias and instructed the team to take away the medals as well as the winner trophy.
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.
Reacting to the entire controversy, Suryakumar added that it doesn't matter that his team didn't receive the trophy, as eventually the world knows India won the Asia Cup and no one can ignore their performance.
Earlier, Naqvi also mocked Indian fans by referencing Pakistan's claims of bringing down Indian fighter jets during Operation Sindoor, which India launched targeting the terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Naqvi used his social media handles as the head of Pakistan cricket in the Asia Cup 2025, rather than trying to remain impartial and showing some courtesy to his post.
"The win is important. If you saw that after the match ended, India was written on the big screen. Asia Cup 2025 Champions. Now what's better than this? All the boards have champions written on them. 2025 Asia Cup. And you play for that only. And I am sure everyone agrees," said Suryakumar.
"I think it was a great moment. Great journey. Great campaign for us as a team. And I am sure the support staff will also agree. And we had a lot of fun," he added.
Devajit Saikia described the act as, "unfortunate and unsportsmanlike" and hoped that the trophy and medals would be returned to India. He also confirmed that the BCCI plans to raise a formal complaint against Naqviâs actions at the ICC conference in Dubai in November.
"We have decided not to take the Asia Cup 2025 trophy from the ACC chairman, who happens to be one of the main leaders of Pakistan. 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," Saikia told ANI.
"So it is very unfortunate and unsportsmanlike, 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," he added.
India raised strong objections at the Asian Cricket Council meeting on Tuesday, 30 September and grilled the ACC chief and PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, for his part in the Asia Cup trophy fiasco during the post-match presentation after the final. India refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi, and he, in turn, responded by taking it into his custody.
BCCI vice-president, Rajeev Shukla, who attended the meeting, representing BCCI, asked tough questions to Naqvi and grilled him for not handing the trophy to the victorious Indian team. Shukla reminded that the trophy is the property of ACC and not Naqvi himself, who had taken it along with him to his hotel room. The BCCI vice-president said that the trophy needs to be handed to India in a proper manner and the ACC should look into the matter immediately.
This led to a heated argument between the BCCI and Naqvi, who claimed that he was made to look like a cartoon during that time. He also said that the Indian team hadn't given in writing that they won't accept the trophy from him. When the BCCI representative continued to raise questions, Naqvi said that they will be discussed on a different platform and not during the meeting.
During the meeting, Naqvi refused to congratulate India for their win in the tournament. He was finally forced to congratulate by the BCCI representative, Ashish Shelar. The BCCI continued to make their case about the trophy and made it clear that the title needs to be handed over to them. They even offered to collect it from the ACC office.
However, Naqvi refused to budge and said that they will need to discuss the matter. He is yet to agree to hand over the trophy to India, which left the BCCI fuming, who were adamant that the trophy belonged to them and there was nothing to discuss.
The BCCI will file an official complaint with the ICC about the matter.
Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik openly sided with Mohsin Naqvi after the latter disappeared with the Asia Cup 2025 trophy following the post-match presentation row at the Dubai International Stadium.
âJust see how much pressure the players went through to win the Asia Cup. How much heat was there that they played in? They worked so hard. Why did they do all that hard work? To win the Asia Cup trophy, to win the tournament! And after theyâve worked so hard, you donât even come to take the trophy. It was such a big achievement, and that too after such a close match. Itâs a massive moment," Malik said on the 'Game On Hai' programme.
âLook, today, they might be celebrating this thing like this. However, in the long run, after a few years, this will come back to haunt them. Theyâll think: âWe won the trophy, we worked hardâ. They are athletes and sportsmen. A sportsmanâs job is to come to the ground, give your best shot, and thatâs it," he added.
Mohsin Naqvi sported a poker face throughout the ceremony, even refraining from handing his own players the runners-up medals. He just posed with Pakistan captain, Salman Ali Agha, when he was given the runners-up cheque of USD 75,000, which roughly translates to INR 66.75 lakh.
The BCCI has started to execute its plan to retrieve the Asia Cup 2025 trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi.
As per a report in Dainik Jagran, the Asia Cup trophy is currently at the same hotel in Dubai where Naqvi is staying. The BCCI is reportedly discussing bringing the trophy back by getting some other cricket associations affiliated with the ACC to mediate in the matter. Naqvi has been asked to deliver the trophy to the ACC office located in Dubai Sports City, from where it can be sent to India.
The BCCI has called Naqvi's act of taking the trophy to his hotel 'childish and unacceptable'. The board is reportedly planning to get Naqvi removed from the position of ACC chair at the ICC AGM in November.
BCCI sources told the Hindi Daily: "Naqvi cannot take the trophy to his hotel. Now Naqvi's days in the ACC are numbered, and he will soon be shown the door. The BCCI will launch a campaign to remove Naqvi. We will raise this issue seriously at the ICC meeting in November. Such a person should not be allowed a place in the top institutions of international cricket."
According to another report in Cricbuzz, Mohsin Naqvi is willing to give India the trophy but has set a firm condition to do so. The PCB chairman wants the organisers to set up a ceremony where Naqvi will be allowed to hand over the trophy to the Indian team. Considering the political and even the cricketing relations between the two countries at present, such a condition is unlikely to be met by the BCCI.
India has to be commended for sticking to their morals. Winning a tournament doesn't mean that things can be compromised. I tend to agree with the Indian comments. Naqvi should've stepped aside and allow Khalid Al Zarooni to present the trophy.
I also believe that it was inappropriate to raise the attacks in the lead up to the final. There lies no logical reasoning behind it. His behaviour was childish and, in my view, pathetic. Naqvi has clearly abused his power and there should be a call for his resignation.