It’s been almost a month since Team India won the Asia Cup in the UAE, but the trophy is yet to be lifted.
The Men in Blue recorded a thrilling victory over bitter rivals Pakistan in the final, consolidating their dominance in the continental championship.
Tilak Varma shone in the final of the Athesia Cup
Building on Tilak Varma’s unbeaten knock of 69 runs, India inflicted a five-wicket defeat on Pakistan. Batting first, Pakistan were all out for 146 runs despite being 113/1 at one point. Kuldeep Yadav played with the ball for India and took 4 wickets for 30 runs in his 4 overs.
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In reply, India staggered back into the hut at 20/3 with Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill. Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson then steadied the ship with a stand of 57 runs before the latter departed. Tilak Varma remained undefeated till the end and took India home in the final.
Also read: Tilak Varma reveals how he cheated death and begins battle with deadly disease ‘rhabdomyolysis’
However, India’s stunning victory was soon overshadowed by a controversial incident as they did not receive the winning trophy. Suryakumar Yadav and his men refused to receive the trophy from ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also PCB chief and Pakistan’s Home Minister.
As the Indian team refused to come on stage, Naqvi eventually resigned. However, he also ordered an ACC official to remove the trophy from the field. In the end, the Indian team celebrated their triumph without a trophy. The BCCI has filed a complaint but is yet to receive the trophy.
Tilak Varma opens up the Asia Cup trophy controversy
In a recent interview, Varma opened up about the entire incident that took place after the Asia Cup final. He said the players expected to receive the trophy, but it was nowhere to be found. Ultimately, the players decided to celebrate the victory in a big way even without the trophy.
“We were actually waiting on the ground for an hour. If you look at the TV footage, you will see that I was lying on the ground. Everyone else was also on the ground. Arshdeep Singh was busy making rolls. We were just waiting and thinking, ‘The trophy will come any time now.’ It took an hour and the trophy was nowhere to be seen. We looked around, but the trophy was nowhere to be seen,” Tilak said on Breakfast with Champions.
Arshdeep said: Let’s create an atmosphere – Tilak Varma
“Arshdeep said let’s create an atmosphere. He said we should just celebrate it the same way as the T20 World Cup in 2024, minus the trophy. Abhishek Sharma, we, along with five to six people, then nodded for the same. Then we went ahead with it.”
Meanwhile, the BCCI recently wrote a letter to the ACC, requesting Naqvi to hand over the trophy. However, the ACC chairman remains firm on his stand and says India can retain their title provided a player and an official receive it from him in Dubai.
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