Mumbai: India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and the Indian cricket team returned to the country on Tuesday (September 30) following their victory in the Asia Cup, which included a win against their longstanding rivals Pakistan in the final. However, the team did not bring the Asia Cup trophy back with them, as they refused to accept it from the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Chief and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman, Mohsin Naqvi. Notably, Naqvi took the trophy with him after the presentation ceremony.
In an exclusive interview with India TV, Suryakumar Yadav stated that the Indian team had awaited the trophy during the presentation ceremony and made sure not to delay anyone unnecessarily. “A little bit of aggression here and there is fine, but they (Pakistan players) crossed the line; we didn’t, and responded to them with our cricket,” he remarked.
Trophy and Medals Remain with Naqvi
The Indian team did not collect their trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, which led Simon Doull, the presenter at the ceremony, to announce that the ACC informed him the “Indian team will not collect their trophy tonight.” Suryakumar confirmed the team’s wait, noting, “I am feeling great after coming back home. I can see people are happy. We play cricket for the very same reason, and I am feeling so happy that we could bring a smile to their faces with a win. We waited there for more than 1 hour for the trophy. We didn’t go inside the dressing room. It’s fine we didn’t get the trophy; our players and support staff are our trophies.”
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has expressed dissatisfaction with Mohsin Naqvi retaining the trophy and the winners’ medals. An ACC meeting is scheduled for today at 2 PM IST, where the BCCI is expected to address Naqvi and request the return of the trophy and medals to India.
