India celebrates with imaginary trophy after being denied Asia Cup winners’ awards

The Indian men’s cricket team celebrated with an imaginary trophy after being denied the Asia Cup winners’ trophy following its five-wicket win over Pakistan in the final in Dubai on Sunday.

Tilak Varma scored an unbeaten half-century as India beat Pakistan for the third time in the tournament to secure its ninth continental title.

Following the close encounter, Pakistan players delayed the post-match presentation proceedings until over an hour after the final ball was bowled.

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Meanwhile, India, led by captain Suryakumar Yadav, was denied the winners’ awards after refusing to accept the trophy from the Asian Cricket Council president and Interior Minister of Pakistan, Mohsin Naqvi.

However, after the ceremony concluded, the Indian players were spotted celebrating with the champions’ banner. To add to the fun, Suryakumar was seen playfully carrying an imaginary trophy and mimicking Rohit Sharma’s slow walk from the T20 World Cup final last year.

The players then did a few trophy lifts for the fans and cameras before taking their celebrations back to the dressing room. A few players even posted photoshopped images of them holding a trophy on social media.

During the post-match press conference, Suryakumar said he had never seen a champion team being denied the trophy. “This is one thing which I have never seen since I started playing and following cricket. That a champion team is denied a trophy, that too a hard-earned one. I feel we deserved it, and I can’t say anything more. My trophies are sitting in my dressing room, all the 14 guys with me, all the support staff, those are the real trophies,” Suryakumar said.

Published on Sep 29, 2025