After leading India to the Asia Cup 2025 title win, skipper Suryakumar Yadav stressed that while on-field aggression is part of cricket, crossing the line is unacceptable.

The continental event saw India facing Pakistan on the cricket field for the first time since the heinous Pahalgam terror attack in April this year, which led to India launching Operation Sindoor on terrorist camps across the border.

The Men in Blue outclassed their arch-rivals in all three meetings of the Asia Cup, including the title clash in Dubai on Sunday (September 28).

During the Super 4 fixture, Pakistan's players engaged in provocative antics, including Sahibzada Farhan’s gunshot celebration after reaching his half-century and Haris Rauf’s 6-0 and plane-crash gestures.

In response, the Indian team refused to accept the winners’ trophy and medal from the Asian Cricket Council president Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan's interior minister.

India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the final to clinch the Asia Cup for the record-extending ninth time. Suryakumar emphasised that his team wanted to respond to the provocations on the field through performance.

“Look, in a game, everyone moves up and down, aggression comes from bowlers and fielders—everyone wants to win. But there’s a line you must never cross. Now, I can’t share everything the players told me about the three matches, but a lot happened on the ground, and the coaching staff saw it too,” Suryakumar told India Today.

“But I told them one thing—after the first game and the second game too—if we focus properly on cricket, everything else is fine. If we win here, there’s no bigger answer than that for anyone,” he added.

In the summit clash, Jasprit Bumrah pulled off jet-crash celebration after knocking over Haris Rauf’s off-stump with a searing yorker while Harshit Rana, Jitesh Sharma, and Arshdeep Singh mocked Abrar Ahmed’s tilt-head celebration on social media.

Suryakumar said it’s important for the players to not go overboard with their celebrations. “Jasprit Bumrah celebrated—he’s usually calm. Later, Arshdeep and others were celebrating too. My message before the final was: if the opponent’s actions are within limits, that’s fine. But if you cross the line, it’s not okay. Play the game with intensity and aggression, but don’t go overboard with unnecessary things,” he remarked.

Coming to the Asia Cup final, India were reduced to 20/3 inside the powerplay in their chase of 147. However, Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson steadied the ship by adding 57 runs for the fourth wicket.

Samson was dismissed for 24, but Tilak (69* off 53) stayed till the end to take his team over the line with two deliveries to spare. Shivam Dube (33 off 22) also produced a stunning cameo to put India on the brink of victory, while Rinku Singh (4*) hit the winning boundary.