Suryakumar Yadav lashes out at ACC for withholding Asia Cup trophy, donates match fees to Indian armed forces

TimesofIndia.com in Dubai: India captain Suryakumar Yadav made a heartfelt gesture after leading his side to the Asia Cup 2025 title, announcing that he would donate his entire match fees from the tournament to the Indian armed forces.The skipper also did not mince words in expressing his disappointment with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) for denying the champions their trophy despite a hard-fought campaign.“I think this is one thing I have never seen. Since I started playing and following cricket, a champion team being denied a trophy. That too a hard-earned one,” Suryakumar said after India’s five-wicket win over Pakistan in the final at the Dubai International Stadium.India remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, defeating Pakistan thrice, including in the final. But the absence of the trophy presentation left a sour note amid the celebrations.“For me, the real trophies are sitting in the dressing room — my 14 teammates and the support staff. They are the reason we won this title. Still, a team winning a hard-fought tournament and not getting a trophy is something I have never seen,” he added.On the off-field developments, the Indian captain said it did not affect his captaincy."I feel it was not that difficult. The boys took it in their stride. They were really happy with the way the campaign was going."Since day one I have been telling them only one thing: Let's just focus on cricket on the ground. And when we go to the practice sessions, let's enjoy what we are doing. Do the same things that we want to do in the game."I think the boys took it in a positive way. I feel unbeaten in the tournament, the boys stepped up whenever needed. I think those are the small moments, small trophies, which we won going forward into the World Cup year."And as I said earlier also, I have never seen this — a team winning a hard-earned tournament and not getting a trophy. We can't say we were disappointed. But if you see, we had a lot of smiles on our faces as we were on the ground enjoying the moment on the podium," he said.The India skipper also opened up about his own batting form, brushing aside talk of being “out of form.”“I don’t think I am out of form; I am out of runs. I believe in my preparations. In matches, things go on autopilot. God is watching, and if you keep doing well, everything comes on time,” he said.Capping off his press conference with a surprise announcement, Suryakumar revealed: “As a gesture, I want to donate my match fees from all the games in this tournament to the Indian Army. I don’t know if people will call it controversial, but for me, it’s the right thing to do.”