Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Syed Mohsin Naqvi tore into Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s congratulatory message to his team, declaring “No cricket match victory can rewrite the truth” about Indians’ humiliating defeat in four-day war fought with Pakistan last May. The closing ceremony of the Cricket Asia Cup 2025 at Dubai Cricket Stadium on Sunday was thrown into disarray after the Indian team, who won the final against Pakistan by five wickets, refused to collect the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, again politicizing the gentleman’s game. Already there were no customary handshakes at the start of the final or after the match concluded due to Indian players refusal to do so, with tensions boiling from their previous two clashes in the competition, which witnessed political posturing and aggressive on-field behaviour. PCB Chairman Naqvi was supposed to present the winners’ trophy, but there were indications that Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav did not participate as was also absent from the customary pre-toss photoshoot before the final. “I have been informed by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight,” Simon Doull, who conducted the post-match presentation, said. When asked about his refusal to collect the trophy at the post-match press conference and their actions leading to the politicisation of the game, the Indian skipper declined to answer the question. The post-final ceremony saw Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha receive the runners-up trophy and cheque. India’s refusal to collect the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi marks a historic low in the cricketing relations between the neighbours, bringing the game into disrepute. Naqvi torpedoes Modi To add fuel to the fire, Narendra Modi’s message to his team after the final miserably failed to calm the situation when he again brought politics into the game by linking cricket victory to Operation Sindoor, which Delhi claimed was a resounding success against Pakistan. It clearly showed that the Indian team’s behaviour throughout the Asia Cup was on the behest of the extremist BJP-led Indian government. Modi made a political reference in his post on X congratulating the Indian team. “Operation Sindoor on the game’s field. Outcome is the same India wins! Congrats to our cricketers,” he wrote. But the way Pakistani Armed Forces had responded to the Indian aggression in May last by shooting down a number of their warplanes and destroying numerous military targets on the ground in their Marka-e-Haq operation, a bellicose Mohsin Naqvi took on the Indian prime minister with the same spirit and exposed him for polluting the gentleman’s game with his extremist and Hindutva approach. In his response on X, Mohsin Naqvi said “If war was your measure of pride, history already records your humiliating defeats at Pakistan’s hands. No cricket match can rewrite that truth. Dragging war into sport only exposes desperation and disgraces the very spirit of the game.” PCB chief wins praise Former crickets and a large number of netizens showered loads of praise on Mohsin Naqvi for showing guts for not handing over the trophy to the Indian team for disrespecting the game. Former cricketer Basit Ali said “PCB chief has shown the courage rarely seen. The Indians were trophy-less after Mohsin Naqvi refused to budge.” The Indian team’s hopes to receive the trophy from someone else were also dashed when Mohsin Naqvi withdrew the trophy from the ground. Sources in the ACC said that now the Indian cricket team will not receive the trophy. Fake trophy pictures The jubilant Indian players were expecting to get the trophy and imagined themselves photographed with the trophy. But those dreams were shattered due to their own foolishness and short-sightedness. As the trophy-less victory could not calm their emotions, they opted to use fake trophy pictures for social media posts. Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill used fake pictures to post messages on the internet. Barbs exchanged Pakistan captain Salman Agha said India had “disrespected cricket” while Indian counterpart Suryakumar Yadav complained his side “were denied the trophy” after winning a fraught Asia Cup. The two teams did not shake hands for the third Asia Cup match running as India won the final by five wickets in Dubai on Sunday. Suryakumar’s side did not attend the victory ceremony after refusing to accept the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, the president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), who is also chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan interior minister. Agha said India’s actions during the tournament had been “bad for cricket”. “I think what has happened in this tournament is very disappointing,” Agha told reporters. “If they think they disrespected us by not shaking hands, then I say they disrespected cricket. “What they did today, a good team doesn’t do that. Good teams do what we have done. We waited for our medals and took them. “It’s been seen for the first time. I do not know where it will stop. What has happened in this tournament is bad for cricket.” Suryakumar told reporters: “I think this is one thing which I have never seen since I started playing cricket that the champion team is denied the trophy. “We took the call on the ground about not taking the trophy.” The regional Twenty20 tournament was the first time the Asian cricket giants had met since deadly fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours earlier this year. Tensions had been running high after the two previous matches in the competition saw political posturing and aggressive on-field behaviour. “If you tell me about the trophies, my trophies are sitting in my dressing room all the 14 players and support staff. They are the real trophies for me,” said Suryakumar. “It appeared on the big screen that India is Asia Cup 2025 champion. It was a great journey and moment for us as a team.” The presentation ceremony was delayed for an hour before announcer Simon Doull said: “I have been informed by the ACC that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight. So that does conclude the post-match presentation.”–Agencies
Mohsin Naqvi refuses to hand trophy to Modi as Indian team left empty-handed
