India refused to receive the trophy after winning the final match of the Asia Cup 2025 against Pakistan, as it was being presented by Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
Mohsin Naqvi is the chairman of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). He is also serving as an Interior Minister and relative to Field Marshal Chief of Army Staff Syed Asim Munir.
Recently, the Pahalgam incident of April 22 and the subsequent brief but intense air war between Pakistan and India, and India’s ‘Operation Sindoor‘ and Pakistan’s counter-attack ‘Bunyan Al-Marsoos‘ have pitted the two neighbors against each other.
The Pakistan cricket team, which was facing criticism for its performance throughout the Asia Cup 2025, was also feeling the political aggression from the Indian media and players in the game.
In the first Pakistan-India cricket match, Suryakumar Yadav refused to shake hands with the Pakistan cricket team, then Haris Rauf made the Rafale shutdown actions public on the field, and finally the Indian team did not receive the trophy.
All these issues are showing the effects of the war between Pakistan and India. Indian cricket commentator Ravi Shastri says that politics should not be brought into the game and the Indian team should be ashamed of its behavior on the field.
Indian players say that people remember the winners, trophy do not matter. Mohsin Naqvi is a political figure in Pakistan and India cannot accept medals or trophy.
On social media, Man of the Match Tilak Varma and captain Suryakumar Yadav shared a picture with a trophy emoji and wrote in the caption that the winner is always remembered.
The single Indian narrative of the Pahalgam attack and its blame on Pakistan, as well as the retaliatory attack on Pakistan’s civilians and a mosque, has created a rift between the people of both countries. This is why the same aggressive behavior was seen on the pitch and field by the cricket teams of both countries.
