India secured a historic ninth Asia Cup title with a thrilling five-wicket win over Pakistan in the 2025 final, but the celebrations were marred by a bizarre post-match controversy involving the trophy presentation. The Indian team was left without the actual winners' trophy after Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi reportedly exited the venue with the silverware in hand.
The Indian squad took to social media to have the last laugh. Multiple players including Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, and Abhishek Sharma, posted victory photos on Instagram with digitally added trophy emojis, turning the moment into a viral trend
Why did Moshin Naqvi exit venue with Trophy?
According to reports, the Indian team had communicated to the tournament organisers ahead of the presentation that they preferred not to receive the trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi, requesting instead that Emirates Cricket Board vice chairman Khalid Al Zarooni do the honours.
The Indian team stayed on their phones while PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi waited to present the trophy. However, the request was turned down. Naqvi reportedly exited the venue with the silverware in hand. After a prolonged delay, commentator Simon Doull announced on-air that India would not be receiving the trophy at all
Despite the post-match presentation drama, India players celebrated the win with the skipper trying to imitate Rohit Sharma's walk from the T20 World Cup 2024 final. The Indian players shadow-lifted a trophy following the presentation ceremony of the Asia Cup 2025 final.
BCCI to protest against Mohsin Naqvi
The BCCI will lodge a "very strong protest" in the next ICC meeting in November against Asian Cricket Council chief Mohsin Naqvi, who walked away with the Asia Cup trophy. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia justified the team's refusal, saying that India cannot accept the trophy from a person who is "waging a war against the country."
He added, "This is unexpected, very childish in nature and we will launch a very strong protest with ICC in the forthcoming ICC meeting to be held in Dubai in the first week of November." Naqvi
