The Indian players waited for nearly an hour after they refused to receive the trophy from the Pakistan board and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also his country’s interior minister
“Trophy leke bhaag gaye woh (They ran away with the trophy).”
Speaking to The Indian Express, a day after leading his team to a thrilling Asia Cup final win over Pakistan, this was how Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav summed up the bizarre scenes that played out after the game in Dubai the previous night.
According to him, the Indian players waited for nearly an hour after they refused to receive the trophy from the Pakistan board and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also his country’s interior minister. In the end, they celebrated without the trophy.
“We didn’t close the door and sit inside the dressing room. We didn’t make anyone wait for the presentation ceremony. Trophy leke bhaag gaye woh (They ran away with the trophy). That’s what I saw. I don’t know, some people were making a video of us, but we were standing. We didn’t go inside,” Suryakumar said.
There was speculation that India didn’t accept the trophy from Naqvi because they were following instructions from the BCCI or from officials in the Government. But the Indian captain squashed such talk, saying it was a team decision taken at the ground.
“First of all, let me make it clear, no one from the Government or the BCCI told us anything throughout the tournament that if someone gives a trophy, we won’t take it. We took that decision on our own on the ground. They (ACC officials) were standing there on the stage and we were standing below. I saw them talking on stage and I don’t know the details of their chat. Some in the crowd started booing. And then we saw someone who was their representative taking the trophy and running away,” he said.
Suryakumar said his players didn’t go inside the dressing room to even take their phones immediately after the match; it was the team’s support staff and masseur who got their phones to the field.
“Everyone was enjoying the moment on the ground. The entire team was celebrating those who got the awards like Abhishek Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma. They were all standing for them, clapping, whistling. That’s the culture of our team,” he said.
When Naqvi didn’t budge from the protocol of the ACC president giving away the trophy, Simon Doull, the former New Zealand player now in charge of presentations, announced: “Ladies and gentlemen, 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.”
Earlier, during the official pre-tournament events, Suryakumar was seen shaking the hands of Naqvi and Pakistan’s captain Salman Agha, visuals of which were splashed on the Internet at the time. Things turned once the tournament began. First, Suryakumar didn’t shake hands with Agha at the toss before their first game, and neither did the rest of the team at the end of the game — a routine that was followed through the tournament against Pakistan. Suryakumar had also dedicated the win in the first game to the martyrs of the terror attack at Pahalgam.
At the end of the tournament, in the post-match presser, Yadav announced that he would be donating his entire Asia Cup match fees to Indian Armed Forces.
“When I went to the dressing room after we won, I was sitting there. A lot was going on in my mind on what I can do. I spoke to a friend who suggested that I can do this (donate the money). So I said okay. I think it’s a perfect moment also. And I have love for my country. So if it’s a small bit and if I can do it, then why not. It comes from inside me. I will definitely do as much as I can whenever I get the opportunity. People put so much effort everywhere. This is our bit, which is nothing actually. People who do so much, who do it selflessly, about whom no one knows,” Suryakumar said.
