India Humiliates Pakistan To Win the Asia Cup — Then Refuse Trophy From Pakistani Official as Chaos Unfolds

India claimed a dominating five wicket victory over Pakistan in the 2025 Asia Cup final,but it was what happened after cricket that has become one of the biggest stories in sports. After their historic win, India declined to accept the trophy from a Pakistani official in a savage move that left Pakistan humiliated in the eyes of many and all of it had political power play behind it.

India Crushes Pakistan to Win 9th Asia Cup

This rivalry has always been heated but India has dominated Pakistan consistently, so the stage was set at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on 28 September 2025 for an explosive and high stakes India vs Pakistan final. Chasing 147, India found themselves in a bit of trouble early, sliding to 10/2 before Tilak Varma steadied the innings with a composed 69 not out in a career defining performance.

Pakistan looked like they had a plan when they were at 113/1, but they collapsed in spectacular and disastrous fashion to be all out for 146 in 19.1 overs. It was a very familiar nightmare for Pakistan as bowlers across India's attack contributed, with Kuldeep Yadav taking four wickets and others chipping in crucial breakthroughs that caused Pakistan's embarrassing demise in the final.

In the final over, Rinku Singh from India who had only faced one ball in the tournament until then struck a boundary to seal India's title and massive victory. And With that, India won their ninth Asia Cup overall and retained the trophy in emphatic and dominant fashion.

India Refused To Take Asia Cup Trophy From Pakistani Official

India's victory celebration was crowned by a savage decision, the Indian team refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Pakistan's Mohsin Naqvi, who serves multiple roles as President of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Chairman of the Asian Cricket Council and Pakistan's Interior Minister.

The trophy presentation ceremony was delayed by over an hour according to reports, largely due to Pakistan's reluctance to exit their dressing room and India's refusal to accept the trophy from the Pakistani official.

As per reports, India had, ahead of time, requested that the Emirates Cricket Board vice-chairman Khalid Al Zarooni present the trophy instead, but Naqvi reportedly refused. So when he insisted on handing over the trophy himself, India declined to take it from him.

While one would assume that Naqvi would let a neutral party present the trophy, he instead reportedly walked off stage with it and took it with him, leaving the Indian team to celebrate without it. This got major heat on Naqvi from cricket fans but India had savage replies up their sleeves.

India still accepted individual awards from other officials, such as the Player of the Match honour, but avoided any acknowledgement of Naqvi. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia reportedly confirmed the move and explained India's stance stating:

'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.'

Suryakumar Yadav, India's captain later expressed disappointment that his team was denied their traditional moment. But he had a witty statement in response as he said,

'This is one thing which I have never seen since I started playing cricket, started following cricket – a champion team is denied a trophy, that too a hard earned one.' He added, 'I feel we deserved it. And I can't say anything more.' He then smartly said, 'If you tell me about trophies, mine are sitting in the dressing room, all 14 guys with me, the support staff – those are the real trophies throughout this journey in the Asia Cup.'

Why India Refused To Take The Asia Cup Trophy

The refusal by India was not spontaneous, it was rooted in weeks of tensions and provocations. From the very first India vs Pakistan match in the group stage, Indian players had declined handshakes, breaking with tradition as a mark of protest and self respect.

As per reports, Naqvi had also amplified revolting content on social media, including images of Pakistani cricketers in fighter pilot suits which many in India viewed as distasteful. For the Indian camp it can be implied that accepting the trophy from Naqvi would have been a legitimisation of such allegedly vile conduct. So by refusing when Naqvi insisted on his role, India seemingly sent a message to Pakistan that respect is earned not given.

Pakistan's Humiliation and Fallout

Pakistan's collapse on the field was embarrassing to say the least. Going from a 113/1 position, they lost nine wickets for just 33 runs, leaving fans and analysts laughing. The meltdown was described as one of Pakistan's worst batting implosions in a final.

If the cricketing humiliation was not enough, the chaotic trophy ceremony added further embarrassment. As Naqvi walked away, India celebrated with makeshift gestures, pretending to hold an invisible trophy, as they are the champions. These gestures obviously quickly went viral, underscoring how Pakistan's tactics backfired tremendously.

But even that was not the end. What cut deeper was the criticism from Pakistan's own former stars and media. Instead of rallying around the team which would have been a hard task given that awful performance, many lashed out at the state of Pakistan cricket. A well known former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar reportedly said,

'Pakistan's middle order is not good, and on top of that, if Pakistan's openers don't perform, the middle order completely collapses. A greater absent-mindedness than this cannot be seen. They have some psychological issues. They panic like this, their hands and feet swell up so much that they don't understand.'

Pakistani fans also went into meltdown criticising their own team. The humiliation, in other words, was not just delivered by India but reinforced by Pakistan's internal voices.

And the runner up presentation humiliated Pakistan further as Pakistan's own captain Salman Agha refused to collect his cheque in front of Naqvi, an act that symbolised clear dysfunction within their own camp and the circus surrounding the PCB.

Modi's Reaction and 'Operation Sindoor'

India's victory was amplified as the political dimension to it was impossible to ignore. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the win with a celebratory post referencing 'Operation Sindoor', linking the triumph on the cricket field with the successful anti terror operation India ran as a response to the Pahalgam terror attack in India. His message was widely shared across social media, with supporters framing the victory as another example of India asserting its dominance over Pakistan.

Modi's words tied the success to themes of resilience and strength, echoing the sacrifices of Indian soldiers and the nation's refusal to accept any disrespect. By doing so, he in many ways idolised the moment not only as a cricket success but as a symbolic assertion of dignity in the face of provocation by India.