"Waited for..."- Tilak Varma brings new twist to Asia Cup 2025 trophy scandal

It has been nearly a month since India, under Suryakumar Yadav’s leadership, won the Asia Cup 2025 against Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, beating Pakistan in the final. However, they haven’t received their medals and trophy from the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) after refusing to collect them from the chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, who is also connected to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Naqvi was firm on his decision not to hand over the trophy unless India takes it from him. He escaped with the title, as the silverware has been gathering dust at the organization’s headquarters in Dubai. Tilak Varma, who was named the ‘Player of the Match’ in the final for his 69* runs in 53 balls, opened up on what truly went behind the scenes.

“We were actually waiting at the ground for one hour. If you look at the TV visuals, you’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.” Varma expressed the backstory during the recent interaction on Breakfast with Champions.

Tilak Varma reveals story of Asia Cup 2025 Trophy row

It’s worth mentioning that the presentation for the final was delayed for nearly an hour as the talks went on between Naqvi and the management. Eventually, the Indian side decided to celebrate with a fictional trophy, but the contingent ensured that the celebrations were not hampered.

“Arshdeep said, Let's create an atmosphere. He said we should just celebrate in the same fashion as the T20 World Cup in 2024, minus the trophy. Abhishek Sharma, we, along with 5-6 more people, then gave our nod for the same. Then we went ahead with it.” Varma explained.

“We were confident, but cricket is a funny game. If you are playing a big tournament like the Asia Cup or the World Cup, and there's a day when you don't play to your potential, then it's over. But the way in which I played against Pakistan in the final, I cannot play in the same fashion in every match.” The left-handed middle-order batter shed light on the episode.