Dubai [UAE], September 29 (ANI): Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy took a subtle dig at Pakistan after India’s win in the Asia Cup final, their ninth Asia Cup title on Sunday.
In an Instagram post, Chakravarthy shared a picture of himself with an empty cup of tea, captioning it, “Akkha duniya ek taraf, aur mera INDIA ek taraf,” poking fun at Abrar Ahmed’s celebratory gesture.
The tea cup gesture was seen as a subtle retort to Pakistani social media users who had earlier commented, ‘Tea is fantastic,’ referencing the Abhinandan incident.
The reference dates back to an X post by Pakistan journalist and political commentator Anwar Lodhi, who shared a photo of the mannequin of the IAF braveheart, captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.
Lodhi shared the picture and wrote: “PAF has put a mannequin of Abhi Nandhan on display in the museum. This would be a more interesting display if they could arrange a Cup of FANTASTIC tea in his hand.”
Abhinandan was later released on March 1 at the Attari-Wagah border.
India’s thrilling Asia Cup victory over Pakistan took an unexpected turn when the team refused to accept the trophy from Asian Cricket Council Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman. Despite winning the tournament, Indian players celebrated without the trophy, instead posing with imaginary trophies on stage.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav later expressed disappointment, saying, “I feel we deserved it. I’ve never seen a champion team denied a trophy”. The BCCI had previously informed the ACC that India wouldn’t accept the trophy from Naqvi due to his political role and anti-India remarks.
India won the Asia Cup final against Pakistan with a score of 150/5 against Pakistan’s 146/10. Chakravarthy played a crucial role in India’s campaign, finishing as one of the top performers.
The Asia Cup final between India and Pakistan was marked by controversy and tension, both on and off the field. Before the match, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav skipped the pre-match photo session with Pakistan’s Salman Ali Agha, fueling speculation about the strained relations between the two teams.
On three consecutive weekends, India trounced Pakistan as many times and walked away with the title with a five-wicket win in the Asia Cup final in Dubai on Sunday. Firstly, in the group stage (by seven wickets), then in the Super 4s encounter (by six wickets) and lastly in the final of the competition (by five wickets).
Kuldeep Yadav, Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma received their individual awards from other dignitaries on stage, while Salman accepted the runners-up cheque from PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. The Indian players did not acknowledge Naqvi. The ACC chairman didn’t applaud the Indian players who came up to receive their personal accolades.
Simon Doull, the presenter for the host broadcaster towards the end of the ceremony, confirmed that, “I have been informed by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight. So that does conclude the post-match presentation.”
Eventually, the speculations cleared up after it was confirmed by the BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia. He disclosed that India had refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy during the presentation ceremony from ACC Chairman Naqvi, who also serves as Pakistan’s interior minister.
“We have decided not to take the Asia Cup 2025 trophy from the ACC chairman, who happens to be one of the main leaders of Pakistan. So we decided not to take it from him. But that does not mean that the gentleman will take away the trophy with him, along with the medals. So it is very unfortunate and unsportsmanlike, and we hope that the trophy and the medals will be returned to India as soon as possible,” Saikia told ANI. (ANI)
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