DUBAI :India captain Suryakumar Yadav said his side had been denied the chance to hoist the Asia Cup trophy on Sunday after it was removed from the presentation ceremony following their refusal to accept it from Pakistan's interior minister Mohsin Naqvi.
India beat Pakistan by five wickets in the final at Dubai International Stadium with emotions running high between the sides following a brief military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May.
The teams met three times at the tournament, with Indian players refusing to shake hands with their opponents throughout, and Sunday's final ended in bizarre circumstances with India celebrating their win by hoisting an imaginary trophy.
"I think this is one thing which I've never seen since I started playing cricket and started following cricket, that a champion team is denied a trophy, and that too a hard-earned one," Suryakumar told reporters.
"I feel we deserved it. I can't say anything more, I've summed it up really well.
"My trophies are sitting in the dressing room, all the 14 guys with me, the support staff, those are the real trophies throughout this journey in the Asia Cup."
Indian batsman Tilak Varma anchored his team's chase with an unbeaten 69 in reply to Pakistan's 146 all out but the action on the field was overshadowed by the drama off it.
The start of the presentation ceremony was delayed by more than an hour and then cut short just before the winner's trophy was to be handed out with Naqvi among those left waiting on the dais.
Indian cricket board (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed their players had refused to accept the trophy from Asian Cricket Council President Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Local media reported that
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