{"id":356903,"date":"2025-09-29T09:50:22","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T04:20:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/?p=356903"},"modified":"2025-09-29T10:04:37","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T04:34:37","slug":"india-beats-pakistan-to-lift-asia-cup-a-tournament-more-about-politics-than-cricket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/india-beats-pakistan-to-lift-asia-cup-a-tournament-more-about-politics-than-cricket\/","title":{"rendered":"India wins Asia Cup but Pakistan has trophy; a tournament more about politics than cricket \u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The 2025 Asia Cup was more than just cricket matches between India and Pakistan, it became a mirror of strained political ties between the two nations, off the field and on the field.  The post-match presentation at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium also saw dramatic turn of events<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo: courtesy BCCI social media account<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Asia Cup 2025 final between India and Pakistan ended in high drama\u2014both on the field and off it. India held its nerve in a tense finish to clinch the Asia Cup for a record ninth time, defeating arch-rival Pakistan by five wickets in Sunday\u2019s final with two balls to spare. But the dramatic on-field triumph was followed by another controversy off the field\u2014the Indian team declined to accept the trophy and winners\u2019 medals from Mohsin Naqvi, who heads both the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Asian Cricket Council and also serves as Pakistan\u2019s Interior Minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, the tournament concluded without the traditional trophy presentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Led by captain Salman Agha, Pakistan\u2019s team arrived late. Further delays followed after India refused to take the trophy from Naqvi. The presentation ceremony, normally a moment of pride and joy, turned chaotic when the Indian players declined to accept the trophy and medals from Mohsin Naqvi, the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, head of the Asian Cricket Council, and Pakistan\u2019s Interior Minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naqvi then reportedly walked away from the stage carrying the trophy and medals, leaving the Indian team without any presentations to mark their triumph. This unusual act drew sharp criticism from India\u2019s cricket board, which called it unacceptable and disrespectful to the players who had fought hard for the win. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For captain Suryakumar Yadav and his team, the night\u2019s true glory lay not in the missing trophy but in the unity and spirit they carried back into the dressing room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

India\u2019s Twenty20 captain Yadav later voiced his disappointment, claiming that his side was denied the chance to lift the 2025 Asia Cup trophy despite their hard-fought win. \u201cThis is something I have never witnessed in all my years of playing and following cricket \u2013 a champion team being denied its trophy, and one that was so hard-earned,\u201d Yadav said at the press conference. \u201cWe truly deserved it. I can\u2019t say anything more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a reflective note, he added: \u201cFor me, the real trophies are sitting in the dressing room \u2013 all 14 players and the support staff who stood together throughout this Asia Cup journey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia slammed Naqvi for leaving the stadium with the trophy and the medals, explaining why India refused to accept the trophy from the Pakistan Cricket Board head. \u201cIndia is fighting a war with a country and a leader belonging to that country was supposed to hand over the trophy to us. We cannot accept a trophy from someone who represents a country that is waging a war against our country. It does not mean that the gentleman will take the trophy and the medals, which are to be given to our country, to his own hotel room,\u201d he was quoted as saying<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Some reports pegged it as “Naqvi running away” with the trophy meant for India <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2025 Asia Cup was more than just cricket matches between India and Pakistan, it became a mirror of strained political ties between the two nations, off the field and on the field.  The post-match presentation at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium also saw dramatic turn of events The Asia Cup 2025 final between India and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187,"featured_media":356904,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2519,53],"tags":[17499,16742,16061,19726],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356903"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/187"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356903"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":356907,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356903\/revisions\/356907"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/356904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}