Whom did Mohammed Siraj hand over Asia Cup trophy while celebrating India's eighth title victory?

India steamrolled Sri Lanka by ten wickets in the final of Asia Cup 2023 to clinch their eighth title of the continental tournament on Sunday, September 17 at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Seamer Mohammed Siraj was the star of the show as he registered his best ODI figures of 6/21 in seven overs and was deservedly awarded Player of the Match.

Also Check: Mohammed Siraj Career Journey & Achievements

Having played a pivotal role in India’s comprehensive win, Siraj was rightfully at the centre of the team’s celebration after the Men in Blue were handed the trophy. However, the Hyderabad-born cricketer handed the trophy to another person on his left who seemed to be a member of the support staff.

There have been widespread speculations about the identity of the man in question. The person in question is India’s throwdown specialist Raghu Raghavendra whose primary job is to give throw downs to the Indian batters with the help of a slinger. Notably, Raghu was India's first throw-down specialist and has even given throw-down training to legends Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni.

Apart from him, the team also has two more throw down specialists to help them in the nets. The image of Raghavendra lifting the Asia Cup trophy beaming with joy has gone viral all over social media.

India register their biggest win in terms of balls remaining

Siraj was the destroyer-in-chief for Sri Lanka as he claimed the joint-fastest five-wicket haul in ODIs in just 16 balls. His second over yielded four wickets which is the most by an Indian bowler. In reply, India sent in youngsters Ishan Kishan (23* off 18) and Shubman Gill (27* off 19) to open the innings and the duo chased down the target in 6.1 overs as India registered their biggest victory in terms of balls remaining (263). 

As a result, India continued their dominance in the Asia Cup by clinching their eighth title. They’re the most successful team in the history of the Asia Cup followed by Sri Lanka (6 titles) and Pakistan (2 titles). Kuldeep Yadav was awarded Player of the Series for picking nine wickets during the tournament.