Tilak Varma gives fresh twist to Asia Cup trophy row; recalls trophy-less celebration: ‘We waited an hour …’ | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: The Asia Cup 2025 trophy saga has taken a dramatic new turn after Indiaâ€s young batting star Tilak Varma revealed what truly happened on the night of September 28, when Suryakumar Yadavâ€s India refused to accept the title from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chair and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) head Mohsin Naqvi.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Itâ€s been nearly a month since India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the Asia Cup final at the Dubai International Stadium, yet the champions are still without the trophy — which, according to recent reports, has now been moved from the ACC headquarters in Dubai to an undisclosed location in Abu Dhabi.Tilak, who was adjudged Player of the Match for his brilliant 69 off 53 balls in the final, opened up about the bizarre events in a recent episode of Breakfast with Champions. “We were actually waiting at the ground for one hour. If you look at the TV visuals, youâ€ll see that I was lying on the ground. Arshdeep Singh was busy making reels. We were just waiting, thinking, ‘The trophy will come anytime now.†But the trophy was nowhere to be found,†he revealed.

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He added that the team decided to create their own celebration to keep the spirit alive. “Arshdeep said, letâ€s create an atmosphere — weâ€ll celebrate like we did after the T20 World Cup in 2024, just without the trophy. Abhishek Sharma and five or six others agreed, and we went ahead with it,†Tilak said with a laugh.Behind the scenes, however, tensions ran high. The post-match presentation was delayed by nearly 90 minutes after Naqvi reportedly refused to allow anyone else to hand over the trophy. A BCCI official later discovered that the silverware was removed from the dais and taken into Naqviâ€s custody.The BCCI has since written to the ACC, requesting that the trophy be formally handed over. But Naqvi remains firm — insisting that an Indian official must personally collect it in Dubai.Reflecting on Indiaâ€s campaign, Tilak added, “We were confident, but cricket is a funny game. If you have one bad day, itâ€s over. The way I played against Pakistan in the final, I canâ€t play like that every day.â€For now, Indiaâ€s Asia Cup triumph remains symbolically incomplete — their trophy still held hostage to cricketâ€s latest cross-border controversy.

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