Captain Lakshya Raichandani spoke about the players’ aggressive celebrations and gestures after India defeated Pakistan in the final of the U19 Asia Cup in Oman on November 14, 2026. In a last-ball thriller, India triumphed by one wicket and lifted the Asia Cup trophy.
Pakistan reached 337/9, powered by 107 from Usman Khan, 80 from Abdul Qadir, and 63 from captain Farhan Yousuf. Kavya Patel claimed four wickets, and C. Venkata took three for India.
India’s chase was anchored by captain Lakshya Raichandani’s 80 and Aaryavir Sehwag’s 58. India, though, had slumped to 252/8 after 41.3 overs when Manal Chauhan and Mohit Ulva came together. The pair hit back at the Pakistani bowlers, putting on a rapid fifty-plus partnership, with Chauhan scoring 47.
Ulva finished unbeaten on 49, while no. 11 Venkata was 11*, as India sealed the match off the final ball by one wicket. The Indian players appeared to be somewhat overly animated in their celebration of the win, with a few of them getting right in the faces of their Pakistani opponents and fans.
Since then, the Indian stars' celebrations and behavior have come under scrutiny, with some criticizing them for not upholding sportsmanship. However, Lakshya does not see a problem with it.
The Indian captain understands that it was all part of the drama that comes with an India vs Pakistan match. His team had lost the group stage encounter between the two sides in the tournament. But when they managed to edge past their arch-rivals in the final, Lakshya felt the emotions were coming out naturally, which he considered entirely normal.
"The group stage loss definitely played a role. But as you know, India-Pakistan matches are always tense and aggressive. We had put in so much effort to win the final, and the emotions naturally came out. I think it was a normal celebration.
We had lost a match earlier, and we were hungry to win this one. As I said, the emotions came out. The celebration was normal. The boys perhaps over-dramatized it a little,” Lakshya told India Today.
The Indian captain revealed that he didn't step in to stop any of his teammates and let them enjoy the moment. Though he enjoyed the celebrations thoroughly, it was not without its downsides for Lakshya, as his social media handle got banned for uploading the video of the celebration, leaving the Indian captain astonished.
“I didn't do anything. I let them celebrate. It was a good feeling. You can't stop them after winning. It was a good memory and a special feeling.
There isn't much I can say. The celebration was normal, and the emotions came out. It was a normal and emotional moment. The match was an emotional rollercoaster. We just wanted to play calmly, and hopefully, we managed to do that. I felt it wasn't that serious or aggressive for my account to be disabled. It was normal, and I didn't feel it was something that warranted disabling my account," said Lakshya.
