No Trophy, No Problem: India’s Empty-Handed Asia Cup Presentation Hurrah Goes Viral | Cricket News

At the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, the Indian team put up a great show of unity and jubilation, yet was noticeably empty-handed as the usual gleam of the Asia Cup trophy was missing from their celebrations. After defeating Pakistan to clinch the Asia Cup 2025, the Indian team refused to accept the winner’s trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairman, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief as well interior minister, making a not-so silent political statement.

The scene post-victory was unprecedented. Instead of the customary trophy lift, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and his teammates celebrated their victory minus the silverware. Not only did the captain and his mates lift an imaginary trophy, Yadav even mimicked Rohit Sharma’s iconic trophy pose, but without the coveted prize in hand.

Speaking to the press after the final, Yadav said: “We as a team decided not to take the trophy (from Mohsin Naqvi). Nobody told us to do so. But I feel a team that that wins the tournament deserves the trophy.”

Snubbed by India, Naqvi stormed out of the Dubai International Cricket Stadium with the trophy and medals meant for the Indian players, triggering a major row. Videos on social media showed Naqvi carrying the trophy and medals and leaving the venue with ACC officials.

The Indian side’s boycott came amid Naqvi’s continued aggression, including posting cryptic videos related to Cristiano Ronaldo’s plane crash celebration, referencing Pakistani claims that six Indian jets were downed during Operation Sindoor following the Pahalgam terror attack. Naqvi also pushed for ICC to charge Suryakumar with a Level 4 offence for supporting the Indian Army and showing solidarity with Pahalgam terror attack victims. The Indian team maintained a ‘no handshake’ policy with Pakistan throughout the tournament.

It was understood that the Indian team was willing to accept the trophy from any other dignitary on the podium except Naqvi.

The politics of the post-match optics, however, could not dull the celebration of the Indian side as Hardik Pandya, who sat out the final, added a photoshopped trophy to his post on social media, bringing back his T20 World Cup 2024 celebration. Vice-captain Shubman Gill too took a jibe by placing a virtual trophy between him and close friend and opening partner Abhishek Sharma in a photograph.

Sources said Team India’s refusal to accept the 2025 Asia Cup trophy stood as a clear rejection of Pakistan’s ongoing disinformation and propaganda campaigns that Naqvi has come to embody. By declining to accept the trophy from Naqvi, India sent a two-fold message. First, it signals that New Delhi will not allow sports to be used as a tool for political propaganda or to whitewash contentious narratives. Second, it highlights India’s resolve to separate substance from optics, refusing to normalise diplomatic and security concerns through symbolic gestures that could otherwise be exploited.

A humiliated Naqvi, meanwhile, claimed that India disgraced the spirit of the game by “dragging war into it”. Reposting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tweet congratulating India after the win, the PCB chief wrote: “If war was your measure of pride, history already records your humiliating defeats at Pakistan’s hands.”

“No cricket match can rewrite that truth. Dragging war into sport only exposes desperation and disgraces the very spirit of the game,” Naqvi wrote.