Following their thrilling five-wicket victory against Pakistan in the Asia Cup final on Sunday, September 28, the Indian cricket team’s refusal to collect the trophy has drawn harsh criticism from former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik. The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s interior minister and chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), refused to give the trophy to the Indian team.
Even if the Indian squad may now see their position as morally right, Shoaib Malik cautioned that it could “haunt” them in the future. He emphasised the tremendous strain the players were under and made the case that, after all of their hard work, they would be missing out on a significant moment of recognition if they didn’t accept the trophy.
“Observe the amount of pressure the players endured in order to win the Asia Cup. The amount of heat in which they played. They put up a lot of effort. For what reason did they work so hard? To win the competition, to win the Asia Cup trophy! And you don’t even show up to accept the trophy after all of their hard work. It was a huge accomplishment, especially after such a close game.
According to The Indian Express, Shoaib Malik stated, “It’s a huge moment.”
“Look, this is something that they might be celebrating today.” However, this will come back to bother them in a few years. “We worked hard, and we won the trophy,” they will believe. They are sportsmen and athletes. The only thing a sportsmen has to do is go down and give it their all,” Shoaib Malik continued.
The Indian Express claims that Naqvi’s recent social media activities was the direct cause of the Indian players’ rejection to accept the Asia Cup 2025 trophy from him. One of the photos that Naqvi had shared on X was titled “Final Day.” With fighter jets in the background, the image included Pakistani cricket players in flying gear, including captain Salman Ali Agha and bowler Shaheen Afridi. Earlier in the tournament, Naqvi posted a picture of Cristiano Ronaldo with a picture of an aeroplane crashing. This post came after that.
“I’ve never witnessed a winning team or individual go without a trophy. We were worthy. During the post-match press conference, Suryakumar Yadav stated, “My 14 colleagues are the true trophies, and they will always be in my memory.”
India
