NEW DELHI: Stooping to a new low every day is nothing new for Asian Cricket Council chief and Pakistan minister Mohsin Naqvi, who did not let India lift the Asia Cup trophy after the Indian players made a bold statement by refusing to accept it from him.

Naqvi, who is also the PCB chief, was adamant on handing the trophy himself and refused to yield to the Indian players' request to accept it from a neutral official.

A video that is doing the rounds on social media showed Naqvi, known for his anti-India rhetoric, leaving the stadium in protest after discussions bore no results.

Naqvi walked off the dais, and officials were later seen taking the trophy away from the podium. The video captured the tense and unexpected moment, which effectively brought the post-match ceremony to a halt.

Skipper Suryakumar Yadav remained unfazed, crediting his 14 "priceless" teammates who, in his words, are "as precious as the Asia Cup silverware."

"I think this is one thing which I have never seen since I started playing and following cricket that a champion team is denied a trophy. I mean that too a hard-earned one. It's not like it happened easily. It was a hard earned tournament win," Suryakumar said.

"We were here since September 4, we played a game today. Two back-to-back good games in two days. I feel we deserved it. And I can't say anything more. I think I have summed it up really well," the Indian skipper tried to hide his disappointment behind a smile.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia backed the players' stand, making it clear that India could not accept the trophy from someone "waging a war against the country."

"This is unexpected, very childish in nature and we will launch a very strong protest with ICC in the forthcoming ICC meeting to be held in Dubai in the first week of November," Saikia said.

On the field, India sealed the record-extending 9th Asia Cup crown with a five-wicket win over Pakistan, powered by Tilak Varma's unbeaten 69, which earned him the Player of the Match award in the final.