Dubai: India’s victorious team, led by Suryakumar Yadav, refused to accept the winners’ medals and trophy following their thrilling five-wicket win over Pakistan in the final.
The tense finale at the Dubai International Stadium was emblematic of the tournament’s fraught backdrop — marred by heightened Indo-Pak tensions, the memory of April’s Pahalgam terror attack, and a series of off-field controversies involving Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi.
The tournament had been dominated by Indo-Pak clashes both on and off the pitch. India and Pakistan faced each other three times, with the Indian team repeatedly refusing to engage in customary handshakes with their rivals. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav had earlier dedicated India’s group-stage victory to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack as well as the armed forces who carried out “Operation Sindoor” in retaliation.
With Mohsin Naqvi slated to lead the post-match presentation ceremony, the Indian team collectively decided to reject the winners’ honours. Players did not walk up to the dais to receive medals or the trophy, a protest they later clarified was directed at Naqvi personally.
Naqvi had faced severe backlash ahead of the final after he shared a video of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo making jet-downing gestures, insinuating mockery of India amid ongoing tensions. Though Ronaldo’s gesture had no direct connection to South Asia’s conflict, Naqvi’s use of the clip was widely condemned as inflammatory and unbecoming of an ACC president.
Pakistan’s cricket fraternity, meanwhile, has largely avoided commenting on Naqvi’s controversial Ronaldo video, though some former players privately expressed concern that the incident has embarrassed the nation’s cricketing reputation.
Naqvi’s presence also led to an unusual one-hour delay in the presentation ceremony. While the Pakistan team collected their runners-up medals, the Indian players remained seated. Only Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma walked up to receive their individual awards — Player of the Final and Player of the Tournament, respectively.
When it was time for India to be crowned champions, Suryakumar Yadav and his men simply refused. Instead, after the official ceremony concluded, the team staged a mock celebration on the field. Suryakumar, mimicking Lionel Messi’s 2022 FIFA World Cup trophy walk, strutted with an imaginary trophy in hand, joined by teammates in laughter and cheers. The scene evoked memories of Rohit Sharma’s light-hearted mock celebration after last year’s T20 World Cup, though this time the gesture carried a pointed political edge.
An irate Naqvi stormed off the ground with the trophy in tow, visibly angered by India’s public snub.
The 2025 Asia Cup was held under the looming shadow of terrorism and war. Barely six months ago, the Pahalgam attack and subsequent Indo-Pak military confrontation left both nations on edge.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia emphasized that they cannot “accept a trophy from a person” who represents a country that is “waging a war against our country” and said they are going to lodge a very “strong protest against the behaviour of the “gentleman” in today’s prize distribution ceremony, while referring to ACC chairperson Mohsin Naqvi Mohsain Naqvi.
During the post-match presentation, Pakistan collected their runners-up medals, and so did Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma, the ‘Player of the Match’ and ‘Player of the Tournament’ award winners, respectively.
However, after post-match interviews of Tilak, Abhishek and Pakistan skipper Salman Agha, former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull, the presenter informed that India will not be collecting their medals or trophy during the ceremony, and the ceremony concluded.
“Ladies and gentlemen, 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,” informed Simon as heard on the live TV broadcasting.
However, skipper Suryakumar Yadav and whole Team India did celebrate their triumph without any trophies and medals. Posing for the cameras, Suryakumar replicated ex-T20I skipper Rohit Sharma’s slow-walk T20 World Cup 2024 winning celebration with the rest of the team, with fireworks going off in the background.
Speaking to ANI from Mumbai, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia said that Team India decided not to take the trophy from their Chairperson of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Mohsin Naqvi, who also happens to be the Interior Minister in the Pakistan government and the chairperson of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
He also condemned his act of taking away the trophy and medals with him and said that during the International Cricket Council (ICC) Conference in November, a “serious and strong” protest would be launched against Naqvi.
“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. 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 said.
He also called for “good sense to prevail” and emphasised that a leader belonging to that country was supposed to hand over the trophy to us, referring to Mohsin Naqvi.
“India is fighting a war with a country, and a leader belonging to that country was supposed to hand over the trophy to us…We cannot accept a trophy from a person who represents a country that is waging a war against our country. So we have refused to take that trophy, but that does not mean that the gentleman will take the trophy and the medals, which are to be given to our country, to his own hotel room. That is totally unexpected, and we hope that his good sense will prevail. We are going to lodge a very strong protest against the behaviour of the gentleman in today’s prize distribution ceremony,” he added.
