PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi’s trophy heist in Asia Cup: How India clinched 9th title while Pakistan clinched global embarrassment

Some defeats sting, and then some defeats haunt. For Pakistan, the Asia Cup 2025 final in Dubai belongs firmly in the latter category. Not only did India register a clinical five-wicket win to secure their ninth Asia Cup title, but the loss was followed by one of the most bizarre spectacles in recent cricketing memory: Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and chief of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), allegedly storming off with the championship trophy and medals to his hotel room.

The man tasked with upholding the dignity of Asian cricket acted instead like a sulking child who couldn’t handle defeat. If the Asia Cup final will be remembered for India’s dominance on the field, it will also be remembered for Naqvi’s behaviour off it, behaviour that exposed not just his personal immaturity but also the rot in how Pakistan’s cricket establishment sees the game.

Bitter over Pakistan’s defeat, Naqvi robbed Team India of their rightful moment of glory by denying them the medals and trophy presentation. It was a textbook display of Pakistani pettiness, masking failure with hollow theatrics to fool their own people. Earlier, the same team had even refused to play against the UAE after Indian players declined a handshake in their first encounter. But once informed that skipping the match would cost them a $16 million penalty, the so-called ‘principled’ cricketers rushed out of their hotel and quietly turned up at the stadium.

For Naqvi though, it was an opportunity to parade h

The sulking kid of the ACC

Everyone knew Mohsin Naqvi in childhood. That one friend who, after losing a gully cricket match, would scoop up the bat and ball, stomp his feet, and head home declaring that the game was unfair. Except this time, Naqvi wasn’t a sulking pre-teen in a mohalla, but the chief of the very body organising the tournament.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia minced no words. The Indian team, he said, had consciously decided not to accept the trophy from Naqvi, who also happens to be Pakistan’s Interior Minister. “India cannot take the trophy from the person who is waging a war against our country,” Saikia remarked, drawing a clear line between diplomacy and sport. That decision, however, did not give Naqvi the right to pocket the silverware like a bitter loser.

Saikia went further, calling the act “unexpected, very childish in nature,” and announced that the BCCI would lodge a “very strong protest” at the ICC meeting in November. And rightly so, for if cricket administrators start acting like tantrum-throwing schoolboys, what credibility do the game’s institutions hold?

Operation Sindoor: From battlefield to playing field

The post-match drama could not overshadow India’s triumph. Prime Minister Narendra Modi summed it up with a single post on X: “Operation Sindoor on the games field. The outcome is the same — India wins! Congrats to our cricketers.”

#OperationSindoor on the games field.

Outcome is the same – India wins!

Congrats to our cricketers.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 28, 2025

The remark was as political as it was poetic. Earlier this year, India’s devastating Operation Sindoor airstrikes had left Pakistan’s terror camps and military infrastructure in ruins. Within hours, Pakistan’s airspace stood exposed, and a top general had no option but to dial New Delhi and beg for a ceasefire. In Dubai, on the cricket pitch, the symbolism was unmistakable: whether in war or in sport, India had once again left Pakistan defenceless and humiliated.

The Asia Cup final, then, was not just a cricket match. It was a continuation of a narrative of Indian supremacy in both hard power and soft power domains. Naqvi’s tantrum only underlined how deeply this narrative is cutting through Pakistan’s fragile psyche.

Supersoldiers in blue

On the field, India’s “supersoldiers” were led by Tilak Varma, who rose to the occasion with an unbeaten 69. His calm yet aggressive partnerships with Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube ensured that India never lost control of the chase. The winning runs were, of course, scored by the audacious Rinku Singh, who thwacked Rauf for a boundary over mid-wicket as India needed 1 off 3 balls.

This was not just about one inning, though. It was about the composure and maturity of a young Indian side that has adapted brilliantly under Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy. Since donning the captain’s armband, Suryakumar has guided India to 18 T20I victories, with just two defeats and two tied games. That’s not a record; that’s a rampage.

Sunday’s victory also marked India’s second T20I Asia Cup title and ninth overall, including the ODI editions. Across formats, India has made the Asia Cup its private backyard. And in Dubai, they did it in the most satisfying manner possible, by defeating Pakistan thrice in the same tournament.

Not just that, the Indian cricketers also took to the stage and celebrated their victory like they normally would, even though Naqvi whisked away the trophy they richly deserved. Hours later, several Indian cricketers posted pictures celebrating their win, complete with edited images of the missing trophy. Clearly, this Indian team knows how to savour victories instead of being weighed down by pettiness.

Leadership beyond cricket

And if anyone doubted the difference in leadership between India and Pakistan, Monday brought a reminder. Suryakumar Yadav, the victorious Indian captain, announced that he would donate his entire match fees from the Asia Cup to support the Armed Forces and the families of victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.

In a heartfelt message on X, he wrote: “I have decided to donate my match fees from this tournament to support our Armed Forces and the families of the victims who suffered from the Pahalgam terror attack. You always remain in my thoughts. Jai Hind.”

I have decided to donate my match fees from this tournament to support our Armed Forces and the families of the victims who suffered from the Pahalgam terror attack. You always remain in my thoughts Read More