Team India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by five wickets in the Asia Cup 2025 final on Sunday (September 28) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, thereby clinching the continental crown for the record-extending ninth time.
However, the triumph was overshadowed by extraordinary scenes at the presentation ceremony, where the Suryakumar Yadav-led side refused to accept the trophy from Pakistan's interior minister and Asian Cricket Council president, Mohsin Naqvi.
The ceremony began after an extended delay, during which only individual award winners were recognised. Despite India's refusal to accept the trophy from him, Naqvi remained on stage, and the silverware was never handed over.
The Asian champions were prepared to receive the trophy from Emirates Cricket Board vice-chairman Khalid Al Zarooni, who was also present on the dais, but Naqvi did not allow this.
The ceremony concluded prematurely, with presenter Simon Doull announcing that India would not receive their winners' medals. Naqvi then quickly got down from the stage and made his way out of the stadium. He reportedly took the trophy and medals with him.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, former India batter Mohammad Kaif weighed in on the entire episode, saying that he was hurt by the Men in Blue not being able to celebrate with the trophy after winning the Asia Cup.
Kaif further stated that winning the continental tournament could inspire a new generation of players, similar to how the 1983 World Cup victory had done.
“What hurts is that the Indian team deserved that trophy moment, they earned the right to celebrate and pose for photos with it after all their hard work, especially after Tilak Varma’s remarkable unbeaten innings that won the final. With captain Suryakumar Yadav leading this young team, these moments become lifelong memories for all, the kind that inspire young players to aspire for India, just like seeing the 1983 World Cup trophy did for us. It’s very sad the players were denied that on the field, though the trophy will come to them later,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
Despite being reduced to 20/3 in the chase of 147, India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the Asia Cup final. Tilak Varma starred with the bat, scoring 69* off 53 balls to seal the deal.
Kaif lavished praise on Tilak’s calmness during the chase after India’s top three fell cheaply. “Chasing wasn’t straightforward since India lost three early wickets. Tilak Varma deserves high praise for calmly soaking up the pressure and finishing unbeaten. He goes unbeaten and wins you games if you look at his record, he did it thrice here as well. I feel that because Abhishek got out early, Gill and Suryakumar Yadav got out the game got tricky. But Tilak played well. Dube has to be praised as well. He does not get enough opportunities but when he does he plays cameos and match-winning knocks,” he said.
The Indian batters found it difficult to score runs when the Pakistani spinners were operating from both ends. Kaif felt that the turning point came when Haris Rauf was brought into the attack for the last five overs as higher pace helped the batters to play more freely.
“The turning point was to target Haris Rauf. This was the plan. When the spinners were bowling there were difficulties. But when Rauf came to bowl, they felt they could target him and his pace. He does not have a lot of variations. The biggest smartness by India in this game was the calculation they did. Haris went for 50 runs off four overs. Smashing him showed that the game plan was solid. In pressure games, you need to use your mind. Many players have skills. But with this pressure, the one who uses his brain is the match-winner,” Kaif remarked.
