Asia Cup 2025: Cricket on the losing side as tournament ends with farcical presentation and a missing trophy

What happens after a match between India and Pakistan in this Asia Cup has drawn more intrigue than what transpires between the 22 yards. It was a similar tale even after India beat its archrival in a nail-biting final in Dubai on Sunday to lift the continental title.

An eerie uncertainty had settled over the field, and all eyes were trained on Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi, who also happens to be Pakistan’s Interior Minister and the chairman of the country’s cricket board (PCB).

Naqvi was in a huddle with the tournament organisers, discussing the next course of action as the Indian team management had refused to take the trophy from the ACC president amidst the ongoing bitterness between the neighbours. An ACC press release on Saturday had stated that Naqvi would hand over the winners’ trophy, but it looked like it hadn’t been communicated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

India skipper Suryakumar Yadav had also skipped the captains’ photoshoot with the trophy ahead of the final on Sunday, and his Pakistani counterpart Salman Agha conducted the formality all by himself.

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Even as deliberations between Naqvi and the organisers continued, the Indian team stood firmly, about 30 metres away. The trophy had been brought, and the stage was set up. However, the Pakistani players were missing, locked up in their dressing room.

About 45 minutes after the game ended, the first significant movement took place as Naqvi made his way to the dais, accompanied by chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’. Most of the fans had left, but a handful, mostly Indian, had stayed on to witness their team lift the trophy.

About five minutes later, the Pakistan players finally trudged onto the field and were greeted with loud boos from the Indian fans who filled the stand facing the presentation ceremony. Naqvi and other dignitaries continued to stand on the stage cluelessly for about half an hour. In between, the trophy was promptly whisked off the field.

The broadcast camera had been static all this time and didn’t show the scenes that transpired on the field. It finally sprang into action for the presentation ceremony, an hour and 15 minutes after the last ball had been bowled.

The umpires and match officials collected their mementoes, and the Pakistani players were handed out their runner-up medals by Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam. So far, only a bystander, Naqvi finally had some use for his hands as he handed the runner-up cheque to Agha, who flung it away to the side before making his way for the customary post-match interview.

Seconds after Agha’s post-match interview with presenter Simon Doull ended, a two-minute-long salvo of firecrackers lit up the sky, but the presentation and the drama were far from over.

The Indian players were called on to collect their post-match and post-series awards after the pyrotechnics had suddenly interrupted the ceremony. After the formalities were wrapped up, the Indian team, which was still waiting, saw the ‘champions’ banner being brought on and taken away from under their nose.

Pakistan’s cricket team members wait for the presentation ceremony at the end of the Asia Cup.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

There was no distribution of medals for the Indian players, and the trophy was returned to its cabinet without being handed over to the champions. After another awkward period of waiting and indecision, the post-match farce finally ended with the Indian players stepping onto the dais and celebrating without the trophy, with some mimicking holding the imaginary silverware.

“This is one thing which I have never seen since I started playing and following cricket. That a champion team is denied to get a trophy, that too a hard-earned one. I feel we deserved it, and I can’t say anything more,” Suryakumar said at the post-match press conference, which began about 30 minutes after the ceremony ended.

Though the losing side conducts the post-match presser first, Agha came after Suryakumar and said, “Whatever has happened in this tournament is quite disappointing. They think that by not shaking hands, they are disrespecting us, but they are actually disrespecting cricket.”

It was an unprecedented tournament for many reasons. Two teams never shook hands with each other throughout the tournament, and one team returned empty-handed after winning the competition. Amidst all this, there was some gripping cricket between the 22 yards, but off it, the sport had lost.

Published on Sep 29, 2025