Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Chief Mohsin Naqvi has strongly criticised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "dragging war into sport", saying that such remarks undermine the spirit of the game.
Hitting back at Modi, Naqvi, who is also the country’s interior minister, said history has already recorded India's humiliating defeats at Pakistan’s hands in the battlefield and cautioned that politicising sport with conflict reflected desperation rather than pride.
“If war was 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 said in a post on X.
The statement came in response to Modi's illogical tweet after India's win over Pakistan in Sunday's Asia Cup 2025 final, where the Indian premier had equated the cricket victory to "Operation Sindoor" to congratulate his players, only to invite widespread condemnation that the remark militarises a sporting event.
Taking a jibe at the Indian leader, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also joined the criticism, saying that Modi was destroying the culture and spirit of cricket for political gain, thereby diminishing chances of peace and conflict resolution in the subcontinent.
"Modi is ending the possibilities of peace and solutions to issues in the subcontinent to save his politics by destroying the culture and spirit of cricket. Honour cannot be regained this way. The score of the Pak-India war, 6-0, has been engraved on stone. We are not saying anything but Modi has been humiliated in India and as well as in the entire world," Asif wrote on X.
Modi faced criticism for his tweet not only by Pakistani leaders, but also by the people in his own country. Social media users and commentators, even from Indian, quickly condemned the comparison. Critics say equating a cricket match with a military operation risks politicising sport and undermining the game’s spirit.
Reacting to the move, a journalist wrote on X: "A prime minister declaring Cricket Match equal to war. Just because India lost the war to Pakistan, they need anything just anything to compensate for that loss."
"Equating a cricket win with #OperationSindoor, where our soldiers laid down their lives, is deeply disrespectful," wrote another user on X while taking a dig at Modi.
Earlier, the closing ceremony of the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 ended in controversy on Sunday after the Indian cricket team declined to collect the winners’ trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi, who also heads the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
India had earlier defeated Pakistan by five wickets in a tense final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium,
However, the post-match presentation was delayed after the Indian side refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi, damaging the gentleman’s game.
The ceremony concluded without the traditional handover, marking an unusual end to the tournament. No customary handshakes were exchanged between players, continuing a pattern from earlier matches where political undercurrents and heightened tensions were evident.
"I have been informed by the ACC that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight. So that does conclude the post-match presentation," says presenterSimon Doull.
Pakistan skipper Salman Agha said India's actions during the tournament had been "bad for cricket".
"I think what has happened in this tournament is very disappointing," Agha told reporters.
"If they think they disrespected us by not shaking hands, then I say they disrespected cricket.
"It's been seen for the first time. I do not know where it will stop. What has happened in this tournament is bad for cricket."
Agha further said that the team would donate their Asia Cup final match fees to families of civilians and children killed in the May Indian attacks.
The Asia Cup marked the first cricketing contest between the two sides since their military confrontation in May, with off-field politics repeatedly overshadowing on-field competition.
— With additional input from AFP