Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has come under fire from Mohsin Naqvi, the head of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), for "dragging war into sport" following India's five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 final on Sunday in Dubai.
Congratulating Team India on their record-extending ninth Asia Cup triumph, PM Modi made an Operation Sindoor reference, writing that India always emerges victorious against Pakistan, whether on the field of play or on the battlefield.
“#OperationSindoor on the games field. The outcome is the same—India wins! Congrats to our cricketers,” Modi wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Mohsin Naqvi was humiliated by the Indian team, who refused to take their winners’ medals and the Asia Cup trophy from him, who was present on the stage as the ACC chief. Reports stated that the Indian team was not happy with Naqvi’s presence on the dais, as he is also Pakistan’s interior minister.
After a lot of delay, India continued with their stance of not interacting with Naqvi, and enraged after India refused to take the trophy from him, Naqvi reportedly took the silverware back to the hotel. He has now also made a social media comment against PM Modi.
Mohsin Naqvi was not happy with PM Narendra Modi’s post for the Asia Cup-winning Indian team, mentioning Operation Sindoor. Sharing Modi’s post, Naqvi said that cricket cannot rewrite history, in which Pakistan has defeated India multiple times in wars.
“If war were 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,” Naqvi wrote on X.
For the record, India has never lost a full-scale war against Pakistan. In fact, their victory in 1971 led to the creation of Bangladesh.
It is now anticipated that the ACC will request the trophy and individual dinners of Indian players from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Devajit Saikia, the secretary of the BCCI, has already declared that they will demonstrate against Naqvi at the ACC and ICC.
