Prime Minister Narendra Modi has triggered debate after drawing parallels between India’s Asia Cup 2025 cricket win against Pakistan and the military confrontation earlier this year.
“#OperationSindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same – India wins! Congrats to our cricketers,” Modi wrote on X, referencing the May conflict that nearly brought the two nuclear powers to war.
The May Conflict
- Sparked by an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 22 tourists, which India blamed on Pakistan (Islamabad denied responsibility).
- Modi launched “Operation Sindoor” in response, leading to four days of fighting.
- More than 70 people were killed in missile and drone strikes.
- Both sides claimed victory, but Indian officials later admitted losing several fighter jets.
Cricket and Politics Collide
India’s five-wicket win in the Asia Cup final in Dubai on Sunday came against a backdrop of tension:
- Indian players refused to shake hands with Pakistani players in all three matches.
- After the final, India’s team did not collect the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi – Pakistan’s interior minister and head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) – who also chairs the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
- Individual award winners Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma, and Kuldeep Yadav accepted their prizes but pointedly did not acknowledge Naqvi, who was the only official on stage not clapping.
Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull, commentating at the match, confirmed the ACC’s decision that India would skip the trophy handover ceremony altogether.
Reactions
- Kuldeep Yadav, who was named MVP, said: “I’ve never seen a winning team denied their trophy.”
- Pakistan captain Salman Agha criticized India, saying: “What they did today, a good team doesn’t do. Good teams wait and take their medals, like we did.”
- BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said the board will file a protest against Naqvi at the next ICC meeting in November.
This incident adds to a string of political gestures and on-field tensions during the tournament, with Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav facing scrutiny for his earlier comments on the Pahalgam terror attack, and Pakistan’s Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan also making controversial gestures.
