Following India's Asia Cup victory over Pakistan in Dubai, spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has taken a veiled dig at Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan's Minister for Interior and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, for allegedly refusing to hand over the Asia Cup trophy to Team India.
The controversy arose after India's win, when the team refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi, leading to a chaotic post-match presentation. Reports indicate that Naqvi removed the trophy from the presentation area, and an official carried it off the ground without explanation.
Speaking on the show 'Breakfast with Champions' with presenter Gaurav Kapur, Chakaravarthy addressed the situation, stating, "It felt good, I knew we were going to win all the matches. We are the number one team in the world. Cup cheen sakte hain (The cup can be snatched away), but we are the champions". His statement implies that while the physical trophy may have been withheld, India's status as champions remains undisputed.
Adding to the drama, after the ceremony, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav mimicked Rohit Sharma's walk from the 2024 T20 World Cup final and lifted an imaginary trophy. Naqvi reportedly said that India could collect the trophy from the ACC office if they wanted. At present, the trophy is still in ACC headquarters.
Chakaravarthy also addressed his viral "coffee cup" celebration on Instagram. He had posted a picture of himself in bed with a coffee mug. The spinner revealed that he originally planned to post a picture of himself sleeping with the trophy, but due to the trophy not being presented, he opted for the coffee mug instead. "I knew that we were going to win. By the time we won the second match, I knew that if we meet them in the finals we are going to win. So I had planned everything. I had planned I will sleep and take a photo with the cup next to me. But after the match, there was nothing next to me. There was just a coffee cup, so I went ahead with it," said Chakaravarthy.
Despite the post-match controversy, the Indian team celebrated their victory.
