INDIA’S five-wicket victory over Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium sealed their ninth Asia Cup crown — though celebrations were followed by a bizarre post-match controversy.
Said controversy – a running theme through this tournament – resulted in the presentation ceremony being delayed for over an hour after the final ball had been bowled. Which also meant that there were hardly any fans left in the stadium to witness the post-match political drama that played out.
Extending their “no handshakes with Pakistanis” stance adopted for all the three matches played against the “enemy team” during the tournament, the Indian team refused to accept the trophy from Asian Cricket Council president Mohsin Naqvi.
For the record, an ACC press release issued on Saturday had stated that Naqvi would hand over the winners’ trophy. That the Board of Control for Cricket in India was never on board with the ACC “decision” was clear from the get go, so what credence one could place on the said release was always debatable. And just one more indication, if any were needed, of the politically fraught state of affairs when India-Pakistan cricket games are in play.
As for the farce of a ceremony, the Pakistan team collected its individual medals. Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma collected their individual awards – player of the match and tournament, respectively — but not from Naqvi.
Not to be outdone, Naqvi, the serving Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, who is also Pakistan’s interior minister, himself looking to score political brownie points back home, ensured the tournament ended without the grand finale – the Asia Cup Trophy presentation.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have been informed by the ACC that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight. So that does conclude the post-match presentation,” presenter Simon Doull announced.
Expectedly, the Indian cricket board, world cricket’s financial powerhouse, has vowed retribution.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed that a strong complaint will be lodged before International Cricket Council. “We had decided not to take the trophy from the ACC chairman who happens to be the one of the main leader of Pakistan. But that does not mean that the gentleman will take away the trophy and the medals. It was very unfortunate, very unsporting. We hope the trophy and the medals will be returned to India as soon as possible,” Saikia said.
With the trophy missing, Indian players marked their victory by posing without it and later adding trophy emoji to their celebratory social media posts.
Clearly, the last word has not been said on this matter. And does not bode well for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The tournament, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, will reportedly run between February 7 and March 8.
If the Asia Cup was a trailer of what will be on show at the World Cup, the ICC has a lot it needs to consider, beyond the financial upsides that India-Pakistan games clearly offer the game’s global stakeholders.
