Drama erupted after the Asia Cup 2025 final when the Chairman of PCB and ACC President Mohsin Naqvi walked away after the Indian team refused to accept the trophy from him. Interestingly, Mohsin Naqvi is also the Minister of Interior for Pakistan.
The move has intensified the tensions, adding to the already heated atmosphere surrounding the high-stakes clash.
India secured a five-wicket victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 clash on Sunday. But instead of celebrations, the post-match ceremony descended into chaos after the Indian team, led by captain Suryakumar Yadav, refused to accept the medals and trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
Several videos from inside the stadium quickly surfaced on social media, showing the unusual scenes and the chaos that unfolded among officials, players, and fans.
Mohsin Naqvi Walks Away, Sparks Fury in India
Another video circulating on social media shows Naqvi waiting on the podium for the Indian team to appear, while the players remained seated and relaxed on the ground, further intensifying the standoff.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly stood firm on its stance, demanding a neutral presenter for such high-stakes fixtures. The chaos has overshadowed India’s victory and has sparked heated debates in the cricketing world.
The Indian cricket team celebrated their Asia Cup final win without the winner’s trophy.
They refused to receive the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, and as a result, the ACC decided not to present it to Indian team during the ceremony.
It is also learnt that the ACC has no plans to… pic.twitter.com/6ENLl3lDfI— Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) September 28, 2025
Simon Doull, the presenter for the host broadcaster towards the end of the ceremony, confirmed that, “I have been informed by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight. So that does conclude the post-match presentation.”
Several Pakistani journalists claim that ACC, the Asian Cricket Council, has no plans to send the trophy to India at a later stage. Pictures and images show that the Indian cricket team celebrated their Asia Cup final win without the winner’s trophy.
Read more: Country over cricket: Suryakumar Yadav, Haris Rauf in trouble for political references on field
The walking-away step has left the Indian captain and the Indian cricket team fuming. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia didn’t hold back and slammed ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi’s unsportsmanlike act of walking away with the Asia Cup trophy and medals.
Never in history has a nation faced such humiliation in just 2 weeks.
First match: Refused handshake
Second match: Belt treatment to Pak bowlers
Third match: Mohsin Naqvi walked away with trophy.
Well done boys
#AsiaCupFinal #INDvsPAK#mohsinnaqvi pic.twitter.com/B4ctEiBc8p— Abhinav Rajput (@Abhinavrt) September 28, 2025
یہ والی ویڈیو اب دیکھی، محسن نقوی اسٹیج پر ٹرافی دینے کےلئے تیار کھڑے تھے، بھارتی کھلاڑی پرے ہو کر گرائونڈ پر لمبے لیٹے موبائل چلا اور گپیں لگا رہے تھے۔۔!!pic.twitter.com/XSrTyPAoWT
— Khurram Iqbal (@khurram143) September 29, 2025
“India is fighting a war with a country, and a leader belonging to that country was supposed to hand over the trophy to us…We cannot accept a trophy from a person who represents a country that is waging a war against our country. So we have refused to take that trophy, but that does not mean that the gentleman will take the trophy and the medals, which are to be given to our country, to his own hotel room. That is totally unexpected, and we hope that his good sense will prevail. We are going to lodge a very strong protest against the behaviour of the gentleman in today’s prize distribution ceremony,” Saikia told ANI.
The Indian Cricket Board has announced to lodge a strong protest against Mohsin Naqvi at the ICC meeting in November. Speaking about the incident, Captain Suryakumar Yadav expressed his disappointment. He said that they deserved the trophy, but they didn’t want to accept it from the person who happens to be the Pakistani Minister-in-Chief. He said that the real trophies are with him in the dressing room and the support staff. He added that this is the reason they have won this title. He also announced that he would donate his entire match fee from the tournament to the Indian Armed Forces and to the victims of the Pahalgam attack.
When the game is done, only the champions will be remembered and not the picture of a 🏆 pic.twitter.com/0MbnoYABE3
— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) September 28, 2025
Salman Ali Agha Calls Out India’s ‘Disrespect’
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Pakistani captain Salman Ali Agha expressed disappointment with India’s conduct throughout the tournament. From the “no-handshake policy” to refusing to accept the winner’s trophy and medals, Agha said the Indian team’s stance went beyond rivalry. “If the Indian cricket board and team think they are disrespecting Pakistan, they are actually disrespecting the game of cricket itself,” he remarked. “Good teams don’t do what they did,” the Pakistan skipper said at the post-match press conference.
Indian Captain Suryakumar Yadav did not show up for the pre-match photoshoot of captains with the trophy.
“We went to pose with the trophy (photo shoot) on our own because we wanted to fulfil our obligations. We stood there and took our medals. I don’t want to use harsh words but they’ve been very disrespectful.
He further added that Suryakumar Yadav had been greeting and shaking hands with him in private, but once in public, his behavior changed entirely.
“He shook hands with me in private at the start of the tournament, both at the pre-tournament press conference, and when we met in the referee’s meeting. But when they’re out in the world in front of the cameras, they don’t shake our hands.
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha announced that the team will donate their Asia Cup match fees to civilians affected by the Indian attack on Pakistani civilian areas.pic.twitter.com/mOuSXxvXJH
— Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) September 29, 2025
“I’m sure he’s following the instructions he’s been given, but if it was up to him, he’d shake hands with me.” Salman tried to justify Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi’s decision to stand on the presentation dais before walking away with the trophy. He said India was not awarded the trophy as they didn’t want to collect it from the PCB chief.
“Everything that happened today was a consequence of all that happened (before). Of course, the ACC president will give the trophy to the winners. If you won’t take the trophy from him, how will you get it?” he countered.
Being the role models, they should give a positive message to the kids watching the match in India and Pakistan. He said people should ask, and only they can answer why things unfolded the way it did. In the match, while concluding his press conference, he said that the match fee of the entire Pakistani team will be donated to the families of those who died during the Operation Sindhu.
Operation Sindoor Overshadows Asia Cup
To further fuel the fire, Indian Prime Minister Modi claimed that India defeated Pakistan in the field just like it defeated Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
If war was your measure of pride, history already records your humiliating defeats at Pakistan’s hands. No cricket match can rewrite that truth. Dragging war into sport only exposes desperation and disgraces the very spirit of the game https://t.co/lqiUATm3wX
— Mohsin Naqvi (@MohsinnaqviC42) September 29, 2025
The Asia Cup 2025 was the first on-field clash between India and Pakistan since the deadly Pahalgam attack in April, which triggered a wave of military escalations. In its aftermath, India launched Operation Sindhur targeting Pakistan, while Pakistan retaliated with its own strikes, codenamed Operation Banyan-un-Mursus, against Indian positions.
From GVS South Asia Desk