India secured a thrilling Asia Cup win on Sunday with a five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the final, but the post-match presentation turned into chaos, leaving the trophy absent. Despite this, Team India found a way to celebrate, taking to social media to share their joy and mock the situation. The drama unfolded when Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi, who also serves as Pakistan’s interior minister, arrived to present the trophy and medals. The Indian team refused to accept them.Afterwards, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said, “We decided not to accept the Asia Cup 2025 trophy from the ACC chairman, who represents a country currently at odds with ours. That was our stance. But this does not give him the right to take the trophy and medals. It is extremely unfortunate and unsportsmanlike. We hope the trophy and medals are returned to India as soon as possible. We will launch a serious protest at the ICC conference in Dubai this November.” The standoff delayed the presentation for over an hour. Pakistan collected their medals after refusing to accept the runners-up cheque, which captain Salman Ali Agha reportedly threw aside. India, meanwhile, celebrated on the field without the physical trophy. Players creatively turned the absence of the trophy into a spectacle. Suryakumar Yadav mimicked Rohit Sharma’s iconic 2024 T20 World Cup walk while holding an imaginary trophy.
Team India’s ‘imaginary’ trophy lift
Hardik Pandya hit his trademark trophy celebration pose, but without the trophy itself, while others shared photos with edited trophies and jokes in the captions.
Suryakumar Yadav on Instagram
Arshdeep Singh also mocked Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed, replaying his wicket-taking celebrations, including the dismissal of Sanju Samson, in a playful jab on social media.
Arshdeep Singh on Instagram
The victory itself was hard-earned. Chasing 147, India was in trouble at 20/3 in the powerplay, but Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 69 off 53 balls and Shivam Dube’s 33 off 22 guided the team to victory with 2 balls left.
Shubman Gill on Instagram
Rinku Singh hit the winning boundary. Pakistan had earlier collapsed from 113/1 to 146 all out, with Kuldeep Yadav taking 4/30.
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Even without the trophy in hand, India’s players turned the moment into a viral celebration, showing that neither PCB nor ACC could dampen their spirits.
Sanju Samson on Instagram
Fans on social media applauded the creativity, humor, and team spirit as India celebrated their ninth Asia Cup triumph in style, albeit surrounded by controversy.
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