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New Delhi: India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav broke his silence after the bizarre end to the Asia Cup 2025 final, where the victorious Indian team left the stadium without the trophy. Despite clinching a commanding win over Pakistan in Dubai, Suryakumar and his players were denied the silverware after a dramatic standoff involving ACC chief and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
What should’ve been a night of celebration turned into disappointment. India had beaten Pakistan for the third time in the tournament. Men In Blue had a dominant campaign that saw them remain unbeaten throughout but as the clock ticked past midnight, there was no sign of the post-match ceremony. And when it finally began, India refused to receive the trophy from Naqvi, who later walked away from the stage holding it.
For Suryakumar, this was a first in his career that a champion team was denied the trophy it earned. Yet, the skipper chose composure over confrontation. “I’ve never seen anything like this in all my years following cricket. We fought hard for this win, and it’s disappointing not to hold the trophy.”
He added, "If you tell me about the trophies, my trophies are sitting in my dressing room. All the 14 guys with me. All the support staff. Those are the real trophies. These are real moments which I am taking back as lovely memories with me which will stay with me forever going forward. And that's all."
Later on he posted on X’, "When the game is done, only the champions will be remembered and not the picture of a trophy.” The skipper’s words resonated across the cricketing world, symbolising unity amid chaos.
The post-match press conference didn’t get any easier. A Pakistani journalist accused Suryakumar of mixing politics with sport by refusing a handshake with opposition captain Salman Ali Agha but the Indian captain brushed off the charge gracefully. “Why so much anger? You’ve asked four questions in one,” he quipped, before clarifying, “We took the call on the ground. No one instructed us. You tell me if you win a tournament, don’t you deserve the trophy?”
When another journalist asked him what chain of events led to team India not accepting the trophy from Naqvi. With his cheeky side, he said, "Rinku Singh hit a four. India won the Asia Cup. After that, we came out and we were celebrating and we applauded every player's achievement - Tilak, Kuldeep and Bhai (Abhishek) got a car. We celebrated that too. So, what more do you want? This was the chain of events that we wanted to achieve.
"And we also saw that the champions' (flexi) board came and went back. We saw that too." He concluded with, "It's okay. It keeps on happening. It's a part of life."
Even without the trophy, India celebrated like true champions. A digitally created photo of Suryakumar and Tilak Varma holding the silverware went viral, prompting a light-hearted response from the captain. “You haven’t seen the trophy? We brought it with us. Check Abhishek and Shubman’s posts - it looks great,” he joked.
In the end, Suryakumar’s handling of the situation said more than any protest could. He didn’t just lead India to their record ninth Asia Cup title but also showed what grace under pressure truly looks like.
