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New Delhi: Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav made a heartfelt gesture after India’s triumph in the Asia Cup final. Following the five-wicket win over Pakistan that sealed India’s record ninth title and ended their long UAE jinx, Suryakumar announced that he would donate his match fees to the Indian Army.
In the post-match conference, he said, “This could be seen as a controversy, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s a good thing. I personally want to donate my match fees from all the games I played in the tournament to the Indian Army.”
Salman was also in the spotlight as he was seen flinging his runner-up cheque in Naqvi's presence after finishing as runner-up against India. The video of the same went viral on social media and got booed by the Indian fans in the stadium. After Surryakumar's statement, the Pakistan skipper also followed his lead later during his media address. He said, “We as a team are donating our match fees to all the civilians who lost their lives during the Indian attack and to our kids who were affected by it. We are donating it to them.” After making thestatement, he ended the press conference in a hurry, signing off with, “Thank you very much.”
India held their nerves in a nail-biting match. After restricting Pakistan to 146 and losing Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill early, followed by Suryakumar dismissal the scoreboard read a tense 20/3. Tilak Verma then rose to the occasion, scoring 69 not out off 53 balls with crucial contributions from Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube.
The drama off the field was equally intense, as India refused to shake hands with Pakistan players and declined to accept the winning trophy from ACC president and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. After Naqvi left the ground with the trophy, the Indian players celebrated without it. Later, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia revealed that the board would strongly protest to the ICC. He justified the team’s refusal by saying that India could not accept the trophy from a person “waging a war against the country.”
The match ended with high drama both on and off the field but it was India who emerged as the champions of the 2025 Asia Cup. The Men in Blue defeated Pakistan in all three encounters of the tournament and remained unbeaten throughout the campaign.
