The post-match presentation was delayed for a long time because India declined to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board and president of the Asian Cricket Council. The champions didn’t hold a trophy at the conclusion of the evening because of the impasse.
Later, Suryakumar explained that the players, not the officials, had decided not to accept the award from Naqvi. He claimed that he was not aware of any formal correspondence about the presentation between the ACC and the BCCI.
“I have no idea about this [any communication between BCCI and ACC]. We took this call on the ground. No one told us to do this,” Suryakumar said.
When asked to describe the sequence of events that resulted in India refusing to take the prize from Mohsin, Suryakumar decided to downplay it.
“Rinku Singh hit a four. India won the Asia Cup. After that, we came out and we were celebrating and we applauded every player’s achievement. Tilak, Kuldeep and Abhishek got a car. We celebrated that too. So, what more do you want? This was the chain of events that we wanted to achieve.
“And we also saw that the champions’ (flexi) board came and went back. We saw that too. It’s okay. It keeps on happening. It’s a part of life.”
However, the Indian skipper made sure his team didn’t miss the moment as the trophy was lifted. He acted out hoisting the medal on the podium, eliciting applause from his teammates.
“If you tell me about the trophies, my trophies are sitting in the dressing room, all the 14 guys, all the support staff,” Suryakumar said. “Those are the real trophies who I have been a big fan of throughout this journey of Asia Cup. Those are the real trophies, the real moments which I am taking back as lovely memories and which will stay forever.
“The win is important. If you have seen after the match ended, ‘India’ was written on the big screen. Asia Cup 2025 Champions. Now what’s better than this? All the boards have champions written on them. 2025 Asia Cup. And you play for that only. And I am sure everyone agrees.
“I think it was a great moment. Great journey. Great campaign for us as a team. And I am sure the support staff will also agree. And we had a lot of fun,” he said.
Although the event has been full with controversies and diversions, Suryakumar claimed that it had not been hard to avoid outside noise. When questioned further during the tournament, he joked that his motto was, “Close your room, switch off your phone, and go to sleep.” He had removed social media apps before landing in Dubai in order to reduce the noise.
Suryakumar stated, “I feel it was not that difficult,” in reference to avoiding distractions off the field. “The lads handled it calmly. They were rather pleased with the campaign’s progress. I have been telling them the same thing since day one: Let’s just concentrate on cricket on the ground. Additionally, let’s have fun throughout the practice sessions. Perform the identical actions that we desire in the game.
“I think the boys took it in a positive way. I feel [to remain] unbeaten in the tournament, the boys stepped up whenever needed. I think those are the small moments, small trophies, which we won going forward into the World Cup year.”
Suryakumar also declared he will donate his tournament winnings before departing the press conference. His tweet then clarified that he meant the “Indian Armed Forces.” “As a gesture, I want to donate my match fees from all the games in this tournament to the Indian Army,” he tweeted.
“I don’t know if people will call it controversial, but for me, it’s the right thing to do.”
