After his side defeated Pakistan in Dubai on September 28 to win the Asia Cup 2025, India captain Suryakumar Yadav made a selfless announcement: he will donate his tournament match fees to the Armed Forces and the families of the victims of the Pahalgam terror tragedy. Interestingly, in a gripping top match, India won by five wickets with two balls remaining.
On September 29, the game ended at approximately 12:02 a.m. (IST). Late at night, at 2:53 am (IST), Suryakumar Yadav tweeted about channelling his earnings to the Armed Forces and the victims of the incident.
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 🇮🇳
— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) September 28, 2025
The Asia Cup final, meanwhile, featured just as much activity off the pitch as it did on it. In reference to Asian Cricket Council chairperson Mohsin Naqvi taking the trophy with himself after the Indian team refused to come up on stage to speak with him following his remarks about the country, Suryakumar Yadav explained at the post-match press conference that he had “never seen” a champion team being denied a well-deserved trophy.
“If you tell me about the trophies, all 14 of the men’ and the support staff’s trophies are in the dressing room. Throughout this Asia Cup adventure, those are the actual trophies that I have been a huge fan of.
According to Cricbuzz, Suryakumar Yadav said, “Those are the real trophies, the real moments which I am taking back as lovely memories and which will stay forever.”
On a personal level, the Indian T20I skipper described giving away his portion of the match costs as the “right thing to do.”
“I don’t know if people will call it controversial, but for me, it’s the right thing to do,” he said.
Despite his inability to establish his batting form during the competition, Suryakumar Yadav wise leadership put the team ahead on many occasions. For India to win every game in the series, his leadership was essential.
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