After winning the Asia Cup, the team India was not awarded the trophy as they refused to accept the silverware from the Pakistan minister and ACC president Mohsin Naqvi. What followed was high drama in Dubai. Despite a thrilling win in the final, the Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian side ended up celebrating without the actual trophy. 

The presentation ceremony was delayed for quite some time, and when it finally began, only individual performers were honoured while the main trophy remained untouched. Naqvi stood firm on stage, but India didn’t step forward to receive it, making this probably the first time in cricket history that the champions walked away without officially lifting the cup. Victory was theirs, but so was the statement.

Despite the long delay, a large number of Indian supporters stayed back for the presentation ceremony, and they made their feelings very clear. Loud boos erupted the moment Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha walked towards the stage. The Indian team had no issue accepting the trophy from Emirates Cricket Board’s vice-chairman Khalid Al Zarooni, who was also present on stage. However, ACC president Mohsin Naqvi, a Pakistani minister, refused to let that happen.

As Naqvi stood waiting on one side of the stage, the Indian players remained just 15 yards away, firmly rooted to their spots. They refused to move forward, causing the ceremony to be stalled indefinitely. Earlier, India had defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the final. But as the trophy handover approached, the Indian management asked who would be presenting it. When informed that Naqvi would be doing the honours, ACC officials reportedly went into an urgent huddle, realising that their president would not be accepted by the champions.

The moment Naqvi stepped onto the stage, the Indian fans broke into loud chants of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai!” along with more booing. He was then told clearly that if he insisted on presenting the trophy, the Indian team would refuse to accept it  and file an official protest. Soon after, the trophy was quietly taken away inside the dressing room by someone from the organising team.

This wasn’t an isolated gesture. Throughout the Asia Cup,Indian players had avoided shaking hands with the Pakistani team and even skipped the customary pre-toss photo sessions, signalling their stance to the ACC well in advance. The situation grew even more awkward when Pakistani players didn’t step out of their dressing room for almost an hour after the match ended, leaving Naqvi stranded alone on stage waiting to fulfil protocol. When Salman Ali Agha and his teammates finally appeared after nearly 55 minutes, they were greeted by loud chants of “Indiaaa, Indiaaaa!”

Given Naqvi’s earlier cryptic posts, including one mimicking Cristiano Ronaldo’s plane crash gesture, indirectly referencing Pakistan’s claim of shooting down six Indian jets during ‘Operation Sindoor’,  India’s refusal was all but inevitable.