ACC chief warns India against dragging war into sports after Asia Cup final controversy

Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi warned India on Monday against “dragging war” into sports, saying such rhetoric only exposed India’s “desperation.”

His remarks came in response to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who compared India’s Asia Cup final win over Pakistan to the May war between the two countries.

In a post on X, Modi congratulated India’s cricketers, writing: “#OperationSindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same — India wins! Congrats to our cricketers.”

Naqvi sharply rejected the comparison. “If war was your measure of pride, history already records your humiliating defeats at Pakistan’s hands,” he said. “No cricket match can rewrite that truth.”

He added that “dragging war into sport only exposes desperation and disgraces the very spirit of the game.”

The controversy deepened when the Indian cricket team refused to collect the winners’ trophy from Naqvi.

“I have been informed by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight,” said Simon Doull, who conducted the post-match presentation.

PCB donates match fees to victims of Indian attack

Separately, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced it would donate the team’s match fees from the Asia Cup final to civilians killed during the May 7 Indian attack on Pakistan.

“The Pakistan Cricket Team has dedicated its Asia Cup final match fees to the innocent victims martyred in the May 7 attack, in which civilians, including children, lost their lives,” the PCB said in a post on X. “Our thoughts and prayers are with their families.”

India’s SuryaKumar Yadav earlier pledged to donate his match fee to victims on the Indian side.

Speaking to reporters, Pakistan captain Salman Agha said India’s actions had “disrespected cricket.”

“I think what has happened in this tournament is very disappointing,” Agha said. “If they think they disrespected us by not shaking hands, then I say they disrespected cricket.”

“What they did today, a good team doesn’t do that. Good teams do what we have done. We waited for our medals and took them.”

Meanwhile, Yadav claimed India was “denied” the trophy but said the decision not to accept it was taken by the team on the ground.

“If you tell me about the trophies, my trophies are sitting in my dressing room — all 14 players and support staff. They are the real trophies for me,” Yadav said.

The Asia Cup marked the first cricketing encounter between the two nations since their brief but intense military escalation in May.

That escalation followed Indian air strikes in Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed more than two dozen people. Pakistan denied involvement.

The crisis eased following U.S. intervention, but relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors remain deeply strained.

—With additional input from AFP.