India beat Pakistan by five wickets to win Asia Cup 2025
Indian team management asks who will present trophy, and it turns out to be Mohsin Naqvi
Post-match presentation ends without India collecting trophy
As was being speculated in the lead-up to the final, Asia Cup champions India on Sunday (September 28, 2025) refused to accept the winners' trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also be Pakistan's interior minister and chairman of the nation's cricket board (PCB).
As Naqvi stood on one side for the post-match presentation ceremony to begin, Indian players were standing less than 15 yards away, refusing to budge from their places and the formalities were delayed by more than an hour.
It was reported that the Indian team management asked who was going to present the winners' trophy and ACC went into a huddle, knowing that their chief wasn't an acceptable name for the Suryakumar Yadav-led side.
Eventually, the Indian team did not collect the trophy and former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull, who was conducting the post-match presentation, said on the dais, "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."
The Indian team maintained a 'No Handshake' policy with Pakistan throughout the tournament.
Further, it was on Naqvi's insistence that the PCB accused match referee Andy Pycroft of prohibiting the exchange of pleasantries after the September 14 game in Dubai, something that was summarily rejected by the International Cricket Council.
How India Won Asia Cup Final
As for the match itself, India took their fans on a topsy-turvy ride before emerging victors for a record ninth time in the continental competition. Riding on Tilak Varma's incredible half-century, the Men In Blue beat Pakistan by five wickets.
India bowled out Pakistan for a modest 146 and then chased down the target of 147 runs with two balls remaining. Varma smashed an unbeaten 69 in 53 balls, while Shivam Dube contributed a breezy 22-ball 33 during a vital 60-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Earlier, a majestic Kuldeep Yadav, in the company of a wily Varun Chakravarthy and a parsimonious Axar Patel, literally ran through the Pakistan batting line-up as India bowled out the arch-rivals for 146 in 19.1 overs.
From 113 for one at one stage when Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub were batting, wickets fell like nine pins once Kuldeep got rid of the latter. India got the remaining nine wickets for 33 runs to take the upperhand halfway into the final.
(With PTI inputs)
