India refused to collect the trophy after winning the Asia Cup against Pakistan in Dubai.
The defending champions won the final by five wickets in front of an impassioned crowd at Dubai International Stadium.
But, after a 90-minute delay to the presentation ceremony, it was announced by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that they would not be coming on stage to collect the trophy.
Suryakumar Yadav’s side had repeatedly refused to shake hands with their Pakistan counterparts before or after the three meetings between the sides in the tournament.
The trophy was due to be presented by Mohsin Naqvi, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, who also holds the same role with the ACC. He also serves as Pakistan's minister of interior.
Naqvi had been a central figure in the controversy over the non-handshakes. He lodged a formal complaint with the ICC over the officiating of the issue.
Pakistan were on the brink of boycotting the group match against the UAE before Naqvi told them they could go to play the fixture, after discussions with the game’s ruling body.
In the lead-up to the final, he was also partisan in his support of Pakistan. He reportedly offered to pay the fine Haris Rauf was given for making inflammatory gestures to the crowd in the Super Four match against India.
He twice posted a video of Cristiano Ronaldo making a similar gesture on his personal feed on X. On the day of the final, he used the same platform to repost support for Pakistan, some of which included images of their players in combat clothing.
With him on the stage for the presentation, India refused to attend, and the trophy was removed.
Individual awards were presented, with Tilak Varma named player of the match for his innings of 69 not out in India’s run chase.
“It is really special, one of the best innings in my life,” Varma said. “It goes for every Indian.”
As well as Varma batted, Pakistan were in a position to put up a far greater challenge when they were 84 for no loss in the 10th over.
They capitulated miserably to be bowled out for 146, and India chased it with two balls to spare.
“It is a tough pill to swallow,” Salman Agha, the captain who was culpable himself during the collapse, as he fell to a rash shot.
“We could not finish well in the batting. Bowling, we gave everything. If we could have finished well, it would have been a different story.
“We could not rotate the strike properly and we lost too many wickets. That was the reason we could not score what we wanted.”
