The Indians didn’t want to take the trophy because they didn’t like how Asia Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi was giving it to them. Naqvi is also the Interior Minister of Pakistan and the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
After beating Pakistan by five wickets in the final on Sunday, Shoaib Malik, a former captain of the Pakistan cricket team, said that the Indian cricket team should have accepted the Asia Cup trophy. The Indians didn’t want to take the trophy because they didn’t like how ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi was giving it to them. Naqvi is also the Interior Minister of Pakistan and the head of the PCB. The trophy was said to have been taken by Naqvi. Malik said that the Indian team’s choice not to accept the trophy will “haunt” them.
“Look at how much stress the players were under to win the Asia Cup. How hot it was when they played. They worked really hard. Why did they work so hard? To take home the Asia Cup trophy and win the whole thing!” Malik laughed. “After all the hard work they put in, you don’t even come to take the trophy. It was a huge accomplishment, especially since the game was so close. It’s a very important moment.”
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“Look, they might be celebrating this today in this way. But this will come back to haunt them in a few years. ‘We worked hard and won the trophy,’ they’ll think. They play sports and are athletes. Just get down on the ground and give it your best shot. That’s it.”
According to The Indian Express, the Indian cricketers refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi right away because he reposted pictures on X. One of the pictures was called “Final Day”, and it showed Pakistani cricketers, like captain Salman Agha and fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, wearing flight suits with pictures of fighter jets in the background. Naqvi also posted a picture of Cristiano Ronaldo earlier in the tournament that looked like an airplane going down.
“I have never seen a champion team not get a shield. We earned it. The real trophies are my 14 teammates, and I will always remember them,” India captain Suryakumar Yadav told the media after the game.
