ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – The Asia Cup final between India and Pakistan has become a flashpoint for renewed political hostility after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi linked his country’s victory to a military conflict and the Indian team staged a controversial refusal to collect the winner’s trophy.
The controversy began late Sunday when PM Modi congratulated the Indian cricket team on X, declaring their win a continuation of “Operation Sindoor,” a military operation launched against Pakistan during a four-day military conflict between the two nations in May. “#OperationSindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same — India wins! Congrats to our cricketers,” he posted.
Pakistan Condemns Politicisation of Sport
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi immediately condemned Modi’s remarks, stating, “If war was your measure of pride, history already records your humiliating defeats at Pakistan’s hands.” He added that “no cricket match can rewrite that truth,” and warned that “dragging war into sport only exposes desperation and disgraces the very spirit of the game.”
The sharp exchange followed a historic low in cricketing relations: the Indian cricket team refused to collect the winners’ trophy from Naqvi, who conducted the post-match presentation. “I have been informed by the ACC that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight,” presenter Simon Doull announced on air.
Pakistan captain Salman Agha stated that India’s actions had “disrespected cricket.” “If they think they disrespected us by not shaking hands, then I say they disrespected cricket,” Agha told reporters, referring to India’s consistent refusal to shake hands after all three matches in the tournament. “What they did today, a good team doesn’t do that… What has happened in this tournament is bad for cricket.”
PCB Dedicates Match Fee to Victims
In a separate move, the PCB announced that it would donate the team’s match fees to the civilians martyred during the May Indian attack on Pakistan, following India’s SuryaKumar Yadav’s announcement that he would donate his match fee to victims on the Indian side. “The Pakistan Cricket Team has dedicated its Asia Cup final match fees to the innocent victims martyred in the May 7 attack, in which civilians, including children, lost their lives,” the PCB posted on X.
The Asia Cup marked the first cricket matches between the nuclear-armed neighbours since their brief but intense military standoff in May, which eased following US intervention. The political statements, the refusal to accept the trophy, and consistent “lack of sportsmanship”—which led Naqvi to lodge a complaint with the ICC after a previous match—underscore the deeply sour relations prevailing between the two countries.
