NEW DELHI: The controversy surrounding the Asia Cup trophy continues to take new twists and turns, with India's young batting sensation Tilak Varma revealing what happened after the match when India declined to accept the trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chair and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) head Mohsin Naqvi.

Tilak, who earned the Player of the Match award for his brilliant 69 off 53 balls in the final, spoke about the unusual events in a recent episode of Breakfast with Champions.

"We were actually waiting at the ground for one hour. If you look at the TV visuals, you'll see that I was lying on the ground. Arshdeep Singh was busy making reels. We were just waiting, thinking, 'The trophy will come anytime now.' But the trophy was nowhere to be found," he said.

"Arshdeep said, let's create an atmosphere - we'll celebrate like we did after the T20 World Cup in 2024, just without the trophy. Abhishek Sharma and five or six others agreed, and we went ahead with it," Tilak said with a laugh.

The post-match presentation was delayed by 90 minutes, and in response to India's decision, an official removed the Asia Cup trophy from its pedestal and carried it off the field without any explanation.

Reflecting on India's campaign, Tilak said, "We were confident, but cricket is a funny game. If you have one bad day, it's over. The way I played against Pakistan in the final, I can't play like that every day."

The latest report suggested that the Asia Cup trophy has been relocated to a different venue in Abu Dhabi after being removed from the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) headquarters.

"A BCCI official visited ACC headquarters a few days back. When he inquired about the trophy in the ACC office, the staff told him that it has been removed from here and is in the custody of Moshin Naqvi in some place in Abu Dhabi," ANI quoted sources as saying.