“India Is Disrespecting Cricket”: Salman Ali Agha

The 17th edition of the Asia Cup reached its grand finale with India and Pakistan clashing for the first time in a title match. In a high-voltage, drama-filled encounter, India emerged champions after defeating Pakistan. However, the post-match celebrations were overshadowed by controversy, as the victorious Indian team was not handed the trophy.

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha expressed his anger over the incident, saying: “India is disrespecting cricket.”

Following the final on Sunday, confusion reigned for nearly 90 minutes before the presentation ceremony finally began. Yet the Indian team refused to accept the trophy on stage. Reports suggest that India had already made it clear they would not take the prize from Pakistan Cricket Board chairman and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi.

Meanwhile, the runner-up Pakistan team did receive their medals, which were handed over by Bangladesh Cricket Board president Aminul Islam Bulbul.

Speaking after the match, Salman said, "What India has done throughout this tournament is disappointing. By not shaking hands with us, they didn’t just disrespect Pakistan—they disrespected cricket itself. A good team doesn’t behave this way. What they did today was unacceptable."

He added, "We wanted to celebrate with our runner-up trophy. We wanted to cherish the moment and stood there with our medals. I tried not to use harsh words, but the truth is—they really disrespected us."

It is worth noting that relations between India and Pakistan have been tense since the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which India accused Pakistan of orchestrating. Because of this, during their group stage clash on September 14, Indian players refused to shake hands with Salman Ali Agha at the toss or after the match. The same political reasons led to India refusing to accept the Asia Cup trophy from ACC president Mohsin Naqvi, who is Pakistani.