In a one of its kind scenario, ACC Chief Mohsin Naqvi went away from Dubai Stadium with the Asia Cup trophy after Indian players refused to accept it. The drama unfolded after India beat Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 final by 5 wickets.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have been running high on and off the field among players and fans. This comes against the backdrop of the Pahalgam terrorist attack by Pakistan, followed by India’s military operation, Operation Sindoor.
India-Pakistan tensions were at an all-time high
Things got heated in the pre-tournament captains’ press conference when there was a lot of chatter around Suryakumar Yadav shaking hands with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and ACC Chief Mohsin Naqvi at the event.
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Then, in the 1st group stage match between the 2 teams, the 2 captains did not shake hands at the toss. When India won the match, they denied shaking hands with Pakistan despite the latter waiting for them in front of their dressing room.
In the post-match presentation, Suryakumar Yadav dedicated India’s win to the Indian Armed Forces for Operation Sindoor and the families of the victims of the Pahalgam Terror Attack. The captain and coach doubled down on this stance after the game.
This was followed by Salman Ali Agha’s boycotting the post-match presentation. Even ICC was dragged into the situation as PCB alleged match referee Andy Pycroft of partiality with Pakistan. However, despite all the theatrics, ICC didn’t budge on its stance.
Political gestures and slang take the centre stage
Then came the Super 4 match between the 2 sides, wherein a lot of gesturing and posturing was involved by players. especially from Pakistan. Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan were reprimanded for their action, with Haris Rauf facing a 30 percent match fee deduction.
Suryakumar Yadav was also docked 30 per cent of his match fee for making a political comment after the 1st match. However, this did not seem to deter the Indian captain as he humiliated Pakistan with no rivalry jibe after the 2nd match.
Arshdeep Singh’s video also surfaced a day after the Super 4 stage, wherein he could be seen making an improper gesture at Pakistan fans. On the eve of the Asia Cup final, the PCB lodged an official complaint against Arshdeep.
Before the Asia Cup 2025 final, Salman Ali Agha hit out at Suryakumar Yadav and India’s antics while backing Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan’s actions.
Then came the night of the final, and similar scenes followed in Dubai. Suryakumar Yadav did not pose with the trophy at the captain’s photoshoot, with Salman Agha being the lone attendee.
At the toss, the 2 captains didn’t shake hands again, and when India came to bowl, Jasprit Bumrah’s gesture mimicking Haris Rauf after taking the wicket raised eyebrows. With quick wickets in the power play, Pakistan fought back hard.
Haris Rauf carried on with his celebration, annoying the Indian fans and players after catching Abhishek Sharma. Then, Abrar Ahmed brought out his trademark celebration after dismissing Sanju Samson.
However, Tilak Varma held nerve, and his crucial partnerships with Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube proved fatal for Pakistan as India won their 3rd match in the tournament vs the Men in Green.
Mohsin Naqvi was humiliated on the world stage
After the match got over, the post-match presentation ceremony was delayed by an hour as Indian players refused to take the Asia Cup trophy from Mohsin Naqvi.
This came after Mohsin Naqvi mocked India after the Super 4 match, sharing an AI-generated video of Cristiano Ronaldo, hinting at the controversial Rafale Down gesture. Haris Rauf was fined for the same gesture.
Mohsin Naqvi kept waiting at the podium with ACC officials, convincing the Indian team to take the trophy from the ACC President. After an hour’s delay, the presentation ceremony was held with Mohsin Naqvi on stage.
However, after the individual awards were shared, the presenter, Simon Doull, informed that the Indian team won’t be collecting their winning medal and the Asia Cup trophy tonight.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have been informed by the Asian Cricket Council that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight. So that does conclude the post-match presentation,” informed Simon Doull.
After being embarrassed by the Indian team, journalists from the venue reported that Mohsin Naqvi had taken the Asia Cup trophy with him as he didn’t want the Indian players to celebrate with the trophy.
The celebrations, however, went on without the trophy by the Indian team after all the dignitaries left the stage without handing over the trophy. One of the most politically charged tournaments finally pulled down the curtains, with more drama off the field.
This once again reiterates that Sport Administrators like Mohsin Naqvi should exercise constraint and show more maturity than the players and fans, as their success will always be measured by the smooth conduct of any event.
