Asia Cup 2025: Never seen a champion team denied hard-earned trophy but my real trophy is my team, says Suryakumar Yadav

India refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Asian Cricket Council's chief Mohsin Naqvi which led to a significant delay in the post-match presentation. For the unversed, Naqvi, the chairperson of the Pakistan Cricket Board has been a controversial figure and has had an anti-India stance.

Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav conceded that he had never witnessed a "champion team" being denied a "hard-earned" trophy. He also shed light on the hectic schedule since the start of the tournament and how the team totally deserved the title. However, Suryakumar was clear that the team was not disappointed on not being offered the trophy.

"This is one thing which I have never seen since I have started playing cricket, since I have started following cricket that a champion team is denied to get a trophy. That too a hard-earned one, it's not like we got it easily. It was a hard-earned tournament. We were here since the 4th [September], played two back-to-back good games. I feel we deserved it. I can't say anything more, I think I have summed it up really well, I can't say anything more about it. We can't say we were disappointed," stated Suryakumar, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Suryakumar also clarified that the decision to not receive the medals and trophies from Naqvi had been a call taken by the members of the team and was not influenced by any external direction.

"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. 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," he added.

Suryakumar ensured his unit did not miss the trophy-lifting moment as he acted lifting an imaginary trophy. There were a lot cheers from his teammates and fans at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, as Suryakumar walked towards the podium pretending to hold a trophy in his actually empty hands. He was extremely satisfied in spending the precious winning moments with the team. 

"If you tell me about the trophies, my trophies are sitting in the dressing room, all the 14 guys, all the support staff. 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'. What's better than this? All the boards have champions written on them. 2025 Asia Cup. You play for that. I am sure everyone agrees," he commented.

Before signing off by declaring his tournament match fees to the Armed Forces and victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, he remarked that staying away from the noise off the field did not prove to be much of a hassle for the team members. 

"I feel it was not that difficult. The boys took it in their stride. They were really happy with the way the campaign was going. Since day one I have been telling them only one thing: Let's just focus on cricket on the ground. And when we go to the practice sessions, let's enjoy what we are doing. Do the same things that we want to do in the game," mentioned Suryakumar.