Suryakumar Yadav was caught off-guard after the Indian captain encountered an unwanted question by Sanjay Manjrekar following the end of the Group A encounter against United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai. Chasing just 58 runs to win, India needed just 4.3 overs to win the game by nine wickets.

The incident took place at the post-match presentation ceremony when Suryakumar stood in front of commentator Manjrekar for questions. Manjrekar, a former India cricketer himself, joked whether the Indian skipper will be getting his full match fees as only 17.4 overs were bowled.

“It was just unbelievable. The dominance was there to see. I am just wondering whether you will get your full match fees,” Manjrekar joked. Not knowing what would be his initial reply, the Indian captain couldn’t help but laugh. “That we will talk about later,” responded Suryakumar.

Sent into bat first, UAE could only survive 13.1 overs as they were bundled out for just 57. Such was the condition of UAE batters that only their openers Muhammad Waseem (19) and Alishan Sharafu (22) scored in double digits. For India, Kuldeep Yadav (4/7) and Shivam Dube (3/7) were the wrecker-in-chief. India will next play Pakistan on September 14.

Suryakumar explains three-spinners strategy

Asked about why he opted for three spinners in Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy and Axar Patel with a lone fast bowler (Jasprit Bumrah), Suryakumar cited the Champions Trophy example where slow bowlers were highly successful.

“Recently lot of the boys were here for the Champions Trophy, the wicket looked good but it was on the slower side and the spinners have a role. Here it is very hot right now and Kuldeep did well, got good support from Hardik, Dube and Bumrah,” said the Indian captain. Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube added the second and third seamer’s option.