DUBAI: “I want to give my match fees from all the games which I have played in this tournament to the Indian Army”, said Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20 captain, in the Post-Match Press Conference after winning the Asia Cup 2025.
He announced that he would donate his match fees from all the games of the T20 Asia Cup to the Indian army, after India defeated Pakistan by five wickets to win the Asia Cup Final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
A well-compiled half-century by Tilak Varma and his useful partnerships with Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube helped Team India secure their second T20I Asia Cup title and overall ninth title, including the ODI editions, beating Pakistan by five wickets in a nail-biting final at Dubai on Sunday.
I have decided to donate my match fees from this tournament to support our Armed Forces and the families of the victims who suffered from the Pahalgam terror attack. You always remain in my thoughts 🙏🏽
Jai Hind 🇮🇳
— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) September 28, 2025
During the post-match presentation, Pakistan collected their runners-up medals, Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma, the ‘Player of the Match’ and ‘Player of the Tournament’ award winners also collected their awards respectively.
India refuses to accept trophy from Mohsin Naqvi
However, after post-match interviews former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull, the presenter informed that India would 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.
Over this incident, Suryakumar Yadav expressed disappointment, stating that he had never seen a champion team denied a trophy. He also praised India’s strong performances and felt that they truly deserved the trophy.
“If you ask me about trophies, I have 14 of them in my dressing room. The players and the support staff are the real trophies. I have been a big admirer of them throughout this Asia Cup journey. Those are the real memories I am taking back, and they will stay with me forever,” he added.
However, skipper Suryakumar Yadav and the entire Team India celebrated their triumph without any trophies or 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.
India players also took a subtle dig at their Pakistan counterparts and the PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, by mimicking their celebrations, sending bold messages, and posting pictures with a animated trophy.
Arshdeep Singh also shared a video on Instagram in which he imitated Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed’s trademark celebration alongside Jitesh Sharma and Harshit Rana, with Samson watching them while carrying a beaming smile on his face.
Hardik Pandya, who missed the final due to a niggle, recreated his T20 World Cup 2024 celebration, but inserted a animated trophy image in his post as well. India vice-captain Shubman Gill shared a picture with Abhishek Sharma with a virtual image of the trophy between them.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir on social media gave a clear message, writing on Instagram, “In the end, INTENT always wins!” However, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia revealed that India had refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy during the presentation ceremony from ACC Chairman Naqvi, who also serves as Pakistan’s interior minister.
“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,” Saikia told media.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took a dig at Pakistan.”#OperationSindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same – India wins! Congrats to our cricketers,” PM Modi posted on X.
Notably, the Indian armed forces carried out Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, 2025, in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 innocent civilians. The Indian Army, Navy and Air Force carried out the joint mission with precision and coordination, targeting terror infrastructure across the Line of Control and deep inside Pakistan.
It is to be noted that, during the final, while chasing a modest 147, the initial spell by Faheem Ashraf left India at 20/3. Tilak rebuilt the innings brick-by-brick, stitching half-century stands with Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube and winning his side the title, with his knock of 69* in 53 balls, with three fours and four sixes.
Earlier, India won the toss and elected to field first. An 84-run stand between Sahidzada Farhan (57 in 38 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) and Fakhar Zaman (46 in 35 balls, with two fours and two sixes) gave Pakistan the headstart they needed.
However, thanks to the magic of spinners Kuldeep Yadav (4/30) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/30) in the middle overs, Pakistan faced a collapse from 113/1 in 12.4 overs to 146 all out in 19.1 overs, with Bumrah (2/25) also getting the final two wickets.
During the run-chase, India sank to 20/3 due to an initial burst from Faheem Ashraf (3/29). However, Tilak Varma (69* in 53 balls, with three fours and four sixes), stitched a 57-run stand with Sanju Samson (24 in 21 balls, with two fours and a six) to bring India back into the game.
Shivam Dube (33 in 22 balls, with two fours and two sixes) delivered some carnage with Tilak, solidifying India’s hold on the game despite some occasional brilliance from Pakistan. In the end, it was Rinku Singh, who was making his first Asia Cup match appearance, who got the chance to hit the winning runs on the first ball.
Tilak has emerged one of the biggest positives from a mostly underperforming middle-order for India, scoring 213 runs in six innings at an average of 71.00, ending unbeaten thrice. His strike rate has been 131.48, and his solitary fifty came when it mattered the most, in the final. He is India’s second-highest run-getter, next to Abhishek Sharma (314 runs in six innings with three fifties) and overall fourth.
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