Gujarat Titans (GT) cricketer Rahul Tewatia shares his thoughts on Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi refusing to give the Indian team the Asia Cup 2025 trophy. The Indian team had defeated Pakistan in the final of the tournament on September 28, Sunday.

Notably, the Indian team was not prepared to accept the prize from Naqvi, who is also Pakistan's Interior Minister and was very active during Operation Sindoor. Following this decision by the Indian team, Naqvi chose to leave the stadium with the trophy in his possession.

This drew him criticism from the fraternity, which described it as an incompetent move on the part of the current PCB chairman.

Sharing his thoughts on the same, Rahul Tewatia stated that Mohsin Naqvi not awarding the trophy to the Indian team doesn’t mean India has not won the trophy.

“As far as the trophy is concerned, based on what we heard and saw, we did not get the trophy. Our players and management were waiting. We found out that the trophy wasn’t given. The players were made to wait for a long time, and the trophy was taken back. They went to play cricket and won the final. In history, the name of the person who won the final is often recorded, regardless of whether the trophy was awarded or not. They did not give us the trophy. That’s their headache. India won the final. By taking the trophy back, the Pakistan team has not won it,” Tewatia told ANI.  

Naqvi’s actions came as earlier in the competition, India had refused to shake hands with Pakistani players before and after the match. Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian captain, had not shaken hands with Pakistan’s Salman Agha, and the tradition continued in their Super Fours game and in the final as well.