The Asia Cup 2025 ended in an unexpected manner on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium as Suryakumar Yadav’s India won the title with a five-wicket victory over Pakistan. The victory celebration, however, was tainted by controversy during the presentation after the match.
Even prior to the final, everyone expected India to refuse to receive the trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi. There had already been high tension since the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, following which the Indian players declined to shake hands with their Pakistani rivals in both the group and Super Four encounters. Naqvi had already vented his ire, lodging a complaint with the ICC and condemning match referee Andy Pycroft.
Also Read: Mohsin Naqvi shamefully steals the Asia Cup trophy, runs away with it to spoil India’s celebration
According to The Indian Express, India refused to collect trophy from Mohsin Naqvi because of his social media posts and the images he shared online. The matter went from bad to worse when Naqvi posted provocative material on his social media handles. This included allusions to the claims made by Pakistan about shooting down Indian fighter aircraft and manipulated images of plane crashes. He even posted a poster called “Final Day” with Shaheen Afridi and Salman Ali Agha in pilot-fighter attire with planes in the backdrop before the final match.
Referring to these moves, the Indian camp clearly communicated that they would only receive the trophy from a neutral official like Khalid Al Zarooni, vice-chairman of Emirates Cricket Board. Naqvi, however, refused to relinquish his claim, asserting he would hand over the trophy himself. As negotiations extended, the presentation ceremony was postponed by more than 45 minutes before the trophy was taken out of the ground altogether.
Individual awards were also presented to Abhishek Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, and Tilak Varma, but the formal ceremony was unexpectedly cut short. Naqvi was subsequently spotted exiting the stadium, allegedly carrying the trophy with him.
The mayhem was visible on the field as authorities tried to salvage the situation. The presentation dias itself was arranged almost 20 minutes after Rinku Singh’s boundary for victory, but with no end in sight, the crowd started dispersing. Only a few people were left to see Abhishek and Tilak provide short interviews to Simon Doull, while match referee Richie Richardson and the umpires on the field attempted, in vain, to broker peace.
Mohsin Naqvi ran away with the trophy to spoil India’s celebration but that didn’t stop the Men in Blue from celebrating and at the end Naqvi’s reputation was left in tatters.
