India’s Asia Cup 2025 win over Pakistan in the final at Dubai witnessed unprecedented chaos. The Pakistani team disappeared into the dressing room for about an hour. Then Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s Interior Minister, walked away with the Asian Cup Trophy and the medals for the winning team. The Indian side had informed the organisers beforehand they would not accept the trophy from Naqvi.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia congratulated the Indian team and said, “We have decided not to take the trophy from the ACC chairman, who happens to be one of the leaders of Pakistan. But that does not mean that the gentleman will take away the trophy with him along with the medals. So, it is very unfortunate, very unsporting and we hope that the trophy and the medals will be returned to India as soon as possible.”

India won all three matches against Pakistan; the group stage, in the Super 4 and in the final. But India refused to shake hands with Pakistani players from the very beginning.

Why Blame Suryakumar Yadav?

There was considerable resentment before the Asia Cup. Why are we playing Pakistan with Op Sindoor not officially terminated. With a net worth of about INR18,760 crore (around USD 2.25 billion) and no tax liability, BCCI was blamed for making India play Pakistan. Some pointed to Home Minister Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah, who is ICC chairman. But orders were from the Government of India.

Though a colonial sport, Prime Minister Narendra Modi loves cricket. That’s why Amit Shah renamed erstwhile Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad as Narendra Modi Stadium, where Modi had welcomed Trump and even drove around the stadium with his Australian counterpart.  

Suryakumar Yadav, captain of the Indian team in Asia Cup, dedicated the win to Pahalgam and the Indian Armed Forces. This drew many adverse comments, including by a veteran Special Forces Brigadier (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VLPpj2VK8Ec).

But why blame Suryakumar who was obviously “ordered” to say so? BCCI official Devajit Saikia also said the same thing. Suryakumar did shake hands with Mohsin Naqvi earlier (https://www.facebook.com/reel/834703335729390) but was ordered no handshake with the Pakistani team during matches.

Modi’s post on X: “Operation Sindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same - India wins! Congrats to our cricketers.” (https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1972373287985401858?s=03) was trolled by Pakistanis saying Modi is making up for losing the war.

 But following two responses are noteworthy:

“Sir just to remind you that u are PM of this country not a cheap Troll. Also, are you so hungry for votes that you will now compare a cricket win with Indian Army? Most Indians are viewing this post of yours as shameful!”

“Sorry Sir, equating a game with Op Sindoor is a disservice to our armed forces. We should've never played with a terrorist nation, but having done that we shouldn’t raise it to a warlike rivalry.”

A comment on social media said: “Is this what he meant when he said that Op Sindoor is continuing? What a shame when the PM, on his official X handle, equates a war with a cricket match.  What if we had lost the match? Would it still have been equated with the match? How can one compare a war, where lives are lost, widows and orphans created, with a game where money is the only motive? This is not political. It is a question of the utter downgradation of the Armed Forces.”

A veteran scholar close to the political hierarchy writes: “One of his minions would be posting the tweet, Tweet is in bad taste. These guys have no knowledge of military operations, ethos or sense of propriety.”  

Modi Tweet Raises Questions

Obviously, Modi doesn’t have the time to tweet himself and read the responses. But this type of tweet has raised many questions.

The status of Op Sindoor is vague. Is it “paused” or “postponed” as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently said, while the colonial practice of “retreat” at the border crossings like Wagah-Attari continues. Rajnath lied in Parliament that there was no loss of lives in the military in Op Sindoor; so where was the question of his laying a wreath on the bodies of those who laid down their lives (sic).

After his famed lyric of “not even one inch of territory lost” to cover what China occupied in Ladakh in 2020, Rajnath is playing the Newton by singing “Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK) will automatically fall in our lap” because of upcoming Bihar and West Bengal elections. This has led to questions whether he wants to raise the Muslim population in India to 40%.

Duplicity has become the hallmark of Indian politics. One example is the massive campaign on social media abusing Mahatma Gandhi favouring Muslims while Modi visits Rajghat to pay floral tributes to him.  

Asia Cup Drama Continues

The drama of Asia Cup 2025 is continuing. In response to BCCI’s complaint to the ACC, Naqvi has said he is ready to return Asia Medal Cup medals to the India team but only at a formal function.

The question now is will these idiocies continue with the first India-Pakistan match of the 2025 Women’s World Cup scheduled on October 5, 2025. There may be more India-Pakistan matches in this series. Besides, the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles also includes cricket.

Where Albania has appointed ‘Diella’ (non-human algorithm) the Minister for Public Procurement, Modi has said he is non-biological with sindoor (vermillion) running in his veins. But can we stop the obnoxious shenanigan of equating a cricket game with Op Sindoor and degrading our Armed Forces in the process?

(The author is an Indian Army veteran. Views expressed are personal.)