"I want to give my match fees to Indian Army": Suryakumar Yadav

Dubai [UAE], September 29 (ANI): Indian T20 skipper Suryakumar Yadav announced that he would donate his match fees from all the games of the T20 Asia Cup to the Indian army, after India defeated Pakistan by five wickets to win the Asia Cup Final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

A well-compiled half-century by Tilak Varma and his useful partnerships with Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube helped Team India secure their second T20I Asia Cup title and overall ninth title, including the ODI editions, beating Pakistan by five wickets in a nail-biting final at Dubai on Sunday.

“I want to give my match fees from all the games which I have played in this tournament to the Indian Army”, says Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20 captain, in the Post-Match Press Conference after winning the Asia Cup 2025 by defeating Pakistan.

During the post-match presentation, Pakistan collected their runners-up medals, and so did Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma, the ‘Player of the Match’ and ‘Player of the Tournament’ award winners, respectively.

However, after post-match interviews with Tilak, Abhishek, and Pakistan skipper Salman Agha, former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull, the presenter informed that India would not be collecting their medals or trophy during the ceremony, and the ceremony concluded.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have been informed by the Asian Cricket Council that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight. So that does conclude the post-match presentation,” informed Simon, as heard on the live TV broadcasting.

Over this incident, Suryakumar Yadav expressed disappointment, stating that he had never seen a champion team denied a trophy. He also praised India’s strong performances and felt that they truly deserved the trophy.

“This is something I have never seen in all my years of playing and following cricket. A champion team was denied a trophy, and it was a hard-earned one. It was not easy. We played two strong games on back-to-back days. I felt we truly deserved it. I do not want to say much more,” Suryakumar told reporters.

“If you ask me about trophies, I have 14 of them in my dressing room. The players and the support staff are the real trophies. I have been a big admirer of them throughout this Asia Cup journey. Those are the real memories I am taking back, and they will stay with me forever,” he added.

However, skipper Suryakumar Yadav and the entire Team India celebrated their triumph without any trophies or medals. Posing for the cameras, Suryakumar replicated ex-T20I skipper Rohit Sharma’s slow-walk T20 World Cup 2024 winning celebration with the rest of the team, with fireworks going off in the background.

Coming to the match, India won the toss and elected to field first. An 84-run stand between Sahidzada Farhan (57 in 38 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) and Fakhar Zaman (46 in 35 balls, with two fours and two sixes) gave Pakistan the headstart they needed.

However, thanks to the magic of spinners Kuldeep Yadav (4/30) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/30) in the middle overs, Pakistan faced a collapse from 113/1 in 12.4 overs to 146 all out in 19.1 overs, with Bumrah (2/25) also getting the final two wickets.

During the run-chase, India sank to 20/3 due to an initial burst from Faheem Ashraf (3/29). However, Tilak Varma (69* in 53 balls, with three fours and four sixes), stitched a 57-run stand with Sanju Samson (24 in 21 balls, with two fours and a six) to bring India back into the game.

Shivam Dube (33 in 22 balls, with two fours and two sixes) delivered some carnage with Tilak, solidifying India’s hold on the game despite some occasional brilliance from Pakistan. In the end, it was Rinku Singh, who was making his first Asia Cup match appearance, who got the chance to hit the winning runs on the first ball. (ANI)

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