'Bas Cup cheen sakte hain': Varun Chakaravathy trolls PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi following Asia Cup trophy row

Varun Chakaravarthy takes sly dig at PCB chief. (Photo: BCCI)

Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy took a subtle swipe at Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi for not presenting the Asia Cup trophy to Team India after the recent victory. On Gaurav Kapur’s web series, Breakfast with Champions, Chakravarthy said that even if the trophy was withheld, the ones to be called "champions" is India only.

The controversy exploded after India’s thrilling triumph over Pakistan in the final in Dubai. At the post-match ceremony the Indian players refused to take the trophy from Naqvi, who is also Pakistan's Minister of Interior. An official was then seen taking the Asia Cup trophy away from the stage without giving any explanation when the audience was left in shock.

Also Read | Is Virat Kohli retiring from IPL? Ex-India cricketer explains why star batter has not signed a commercial deal with RCB

Reflecting on the win, Varun said, “It felt good, I knew we were going to win all the matches. We are the number one team in the world. Cup cheen sakte hain (Cup can be snatched), but we are champions.”

Without the matter dampening their spirits, the Indian side were absolutely euphoric at the victory. Captain Suryakumar Yadav even mimicked Rohit Sharma’s iconic slow walk from the 2024 T20 World Cup final, as he lifted a non-existent trophy and some of his teammates followed suit. Later on, Naqvi said that if India wanted, they could collect the trophy from the ACC office.

WATCH VIDEO - Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma train hard ahead of Perth ODI against Australia

The spinner also spoke about his viral ‘coffee cup’ celebration on Instagram, where he shared a photo of himself sleeping with a coffee cup in lieu of a trophy Chakravarthy, who took seven wickets in six matches at an average of 20.42, shared that he had originally intended to take a photo with the trophy but then decided to do something different.

“I knew that we were going to win because by the time we won the second match against them, I knew that if we were going to meet them at the finals, we were going to win. So I had planned everything. So I will take a photo like I'm sleeping with a cup and all those things. But after the match, there was nothing next to me. Just a coffee cup. So I went with it,” he concluded.