India refuse to accept Asia Cup trophy from Mohsin Naqvi

The Indian team refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy during the presentation ceremony that was delayed by more than an hour after they beat Pakistan by five wickets in the final on Sunday in Dubai. They refused because the trophy was to be presented by Asian Cricket Council president Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the PCB and the Interior Minister of Pakistan.

"We have decided not to take the Asia Cup trophy from the ACC chairman, who happens to be one of the main leaders of Pakistan," BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told ANI. "So we decided not to take it from him. But that does not mean that the gentleman will take away the trophy with him, along with the medals. So it is very unfortunate and we hope that the trophy and the medals will be returned to India as soon as possible.

"There is an ICC conference in November in Dubai. In the next conference, we are going to launch a very serious and very strong protest against the act of the ACC chairperson."

While the match ended around 10.30 pm Dubai time, in a thrilling final-over finish, the wait for the presentation went on until close to midnight. It was not initially clear what was prolonging the delay, though speculation was that the Indian team did not want to receive the trophy from Naqvi. A statement on the organisation's website on Saturday had said that Naqvi intended to hand over the trophy to the winners.

Once the presentation ceremony began, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma received their individual awards from other dignitaries on stage, and Pakistan captain Salman Agha accepted the runners-up cheque from Naqvi, after which the ceremony came to an end.

"I have been informed by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight," Simon Doull, the presenter for the host broadcaster, said at the ceremony. "So that does conclude the post-match presentation."

At the press conference after the ceremony, India captain Suryakumar Yadav said he had not seen anything like it. "I think this is one thing which I have never seen since I started playing cricket, started following cricket, that a champion team is denied a trophy, that too a hard earned one. I feel we deserved it. I can't say anything more, I've summed it up really well. If you tell me about trophies, my trophies are sitting in the dressing room, all the 14 guys with me, the support staff, those are the real trophies throughout this journey in the Asia Cup."

Suryakumar said the team had taken the decision not to receive the trophy and that "no one told us to do it."

Once the game concluded, the Pakistan players walked off the ground into the dressing room while the Indian players stayed on the field. The stage for the presentation ceremony was not set for an extended period of time. In due course, Naqvi appeared, and spent a significant amount of time in animated discussions with officials on the ground while the crowd thinned out, though a large number of Indian spectators remained.

After nearly an hour the stage was set up with Naqvi and other dignitaries taking their place. An official then removed the Asia Cup trophy from its place on a raised dais, and walked off the ground with it without explanation. The Pakistan team then emerged before the ceremony, conducted by Doull commenced.

The Indian players who received their individual awards did walk up to the stage where Naqvi stood, but did not acknowledge him, and received their awards from other officials on stage. Naqvi did not applaud the Indian players who came up to receive their individual awards.

The Pakistan players came up to receive their runner-up medals, with captain Agha accepting the cheque, which he posed for with Naqvi. After the post-match interviews with Doull were concluded, the dignitaries left the stage. The Indian team and officials then took their place on the podium, where they celebrated their victory. With no actual trophy in sight, Suryakumar and the rest of the side held up an imaginary trophy as part of their celebrations.

India's stance to not accept a trophy from Naqvi was expected well in advance. They had refused to shake hands with Pakistan in any of the three games they played this tournament, either at the toss between captains or after the matches. While Pakistan coach Mike Hesson and captain Agha both criticised India for it, India's position did not change. Things became heated, especially during the second game in the Super Fours, with several verbal spats between the sides. Suryakumar was fined for remarks he made following the first game, and Haris Rauf for his actions in the second.