India defeated Pakistan in Asia Cup 2025 final, but ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi took off with trophy.
India’s ace spinner Varun Chakaravarthy revealed that the Men in Blue’s Asia Cup 2025 celebrations without the trophy were pacer Arshdeep Singh’s idea. The great spinner described the events that transpired the night India defeated Pakistan in a heated summit match.
Players refused to receive the Asia Cup trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) president Mohsin Naqvi; hence, the Indian team was not given it. India had asked for a new official to present the trophy, but their request was turned down. The team consequently did not receive the trophy or the medals awarded to the winners.
Mohsin Naqvi remained on the stage for more than 40 minutes while Indian players spent time on the ground. Then Naqvi, humiliated, walked away from the stage, taking the medals and Asia Cup trophy with him to the ACC trophy, where it remains to this day.
The players made the decision to celebrate on the podium even after the officials had left the field. Colleagues cheered when Captain Suryakumar Yadav imitated a trophy lift and even emulated Rohit Sharma's T20 World Cup celebration.
Varun Chakaravarthy revealed that the idea for the impromptu celebration came from Arshdeep Singh.
“It was actually Arshdeep's idea. We were waiting for the trophy, but we all know how that turned out. I was standing there, hoping the cup would show up—we were all waiting. But the only cup next to me was a coffee cup,” Varun said at the CEAT Awards.
Sanju Samson, who won the Men's T20I Batter of the Year title during the occasion, shared Varun's thoughts. He admits that it seemed strange to celebrate without a trophy, but the team spirit helped improve the mood.
“It was a bit strange, celebrating without the trophy. But we have a very positive environment in our dressing room. Even if we don’t have anything, we celebrate like we have everything. That’s exactly what we did,” Samson said.
Indian players took to social media to post photos of their win, using a trophy emoji in place of the real photo, in a jab at ACC and Mohsin Naqvi for not giving them the real trophy.