New Delhi, Sep 29 India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav responded to the Asia Cup trophy row following their five-wicket win over Pakistan in the final, stating that the team's main goal was to play good cricket and win. He emphasised that whether they received the trophy or not was unimportant, adding that seeing smiling faces back home is the real reward for the team.
After beating Pakistan in the summit clash, the Indian team refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy during the presentation ceremony from ACC chief Naqvi, who also serves as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Asian Cricket Council, and Pakistan’s Interior Minister.
When the presentation ceremony began, which started after a 90-minute delay, India spinner Kuldeep Yadav, opener Abhishek Sharma, and batter Tilak Varma received their individual awards from other dignitaries on stage. When Naqvi stepped onto the dais, the Indian team made it clear they would not accept the trophy from him. Moments later, the trophy was removed from the venue, leaving the champions without their prize.
Speaking to NDTV, Suryakumar reflected on the incident and said, "I think it spoke volumes. Our main focus was to win matches and play good cricket. It doesn’t really matter if the trophy came or not. Smiles on the faces of people back home is our trophy.
"What matters is that my country is happy and we are celebrating. We have billboards in our name that we are the Asia Cup champions. What more do you need?"
The win in the final was India's third victory over Pakistan in the span of 15 days, which no Indian captain has achieved before Suryakumar, who believes it was "destined" to happen.
"Winning 3-0 was excellent. Incredible show from the boys. They delivered what I expected from them. All the talks that we have had with them – right here in this team room that we are sitting in – have all worked and I’m very happy. Never played them three times in a single tournament. It was destined to happen," the Indian skipper said.
Talking about how he manages provocative actions from the opposition, Suryakumar said, "I think there is a difference between the two sides. None of us at any point have shown any inappropriate gesture, because we wanted to play this game with dignity. We just wanted to give a nice statement out there while playing a good brand of cricket, irrespective of the result – which can go either way when you are playing."
"Back from the match, when one is talking, there should be a feeling of happiness thinking that they have given all the effort possible at the ground. I keep telling my boys that let’s not get deviated from the game. Follow the situation and the game, keeping emotions aside," he further said.
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