When Cricket Becomes A Casualty Of Hostility – OpEd
On September 28, the Asia Cup 2025 came to an end in Dubai. What should have been remembered for thrilling contests and moments of sporting brilliance is instead being recalled for all the wrong reasons. The tournament’s conclusion was marred not by the outcome of the final but by the conduct of the Indian cricket team, whose actions reflected political hostility rather than sportsmanship.
Instead of celebrating victory in a spirit of unity, India refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, Pakistan’s interior minister and chairman of the Asian Cricket Council. According to The Independent, the Indian team declined to receive the trophy from Naqvi after having already refused handshakes with their Pakistani counterparts throughout the tournament. The presentation ceremony was delayed for more than an hour, the trophy was briefly removed from the podium, and finally the event ended with the bizarre spectacle of the winning team celebrating without its trophy.
Indian officials later admitted the refusal was deliberate. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) declared that the team would not accept the trophy from Naqvi and promised to lodge a protest at the ICC’s November conference. This was not an act of oversight but a calculated decision to inject politics into sport. Simon Doull, the former New Zealand cricketer and commentator, summed up the situation during the broadcast: “Ladies and gentlemen, I have been informed by the ACC that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight.” For fans across the world, it was a shocking announcement.
Pakistan’s players, led by captain Salman Agha, displayed composure in contrast. Speaking to reporters, Agha said, “If they think they disrespected us by not shaking hands, then I say they disrespected cricket”. He added that good teams respect the game regardless of rivalry. His words struck a chord with many who felt the incident tarnished the spirit of cricket.
The hostility did not stop there. Former Indian cricketers such as Harbhajan Singh and Kedar Yadav openly argued against even playing Pakistan, with Harbhajan resorting to the divisive south Asian phrase “Khoon aur paani ek saath nahi beh sakti” (blood and water cannot flow together). Such statements, coupled with the on-field conduct, revealed that the Asia Cup was less about cricketing excellence and more about political theater.
The broader context cannot be ignored. Only months earlier, in May 2025, India and Pakistan were locked in a tense military standoff that disrupted both the IPL and the Pakistan Super League. Instead of moving forward from that crisis, India has carried its hostility into every sphere, including sport. By refusing handshakes at tosses and post-match ceremonies and finally rejecting the trophy itself, New Delhi projected animosity rather than maturity.
Sport has often been a bridge when politics fails. The world remembers how table tennis (ping-pong diplomacy) helped open relations between the United States and China in the 1970s. Even during the Cold War, American and Soviet athletes shook hands after hard-fought contests. In South Asia too, cricket once brought respite from conflict, with tours in the early 2000s giving hope of dialogue. The Asia Cup 2025, however, went in the opposite direction. Instead of offering a stage for reconciliation, it became a mirror of hostility.
India’s conduct must also be measured against its aspirations. As one of the world’s largest economies and a self-declared democracy, it seeks recognition as a responsible regional power. Yet its behavior in Dubai was less about responsibility and more about resentment. True leadership is shown through confidence and generosity, not through boycotts and symbolic snubs. By refusing a handshake or a trophy, India did not appear strong. It appeared small.
What is at stake here is more than cricket. Bullying gestures and politicization of sport may satisfy certain nationalist audiences at home but they diminish prospects for regional peace. South Asia is already facing insecurity, terrorism, and economic pressures. In such a climate, sport could have been a rare space for unity. Instead, India’s actions turned it into yet another arena of division.
The Asia Cup 2025 will not be remembered for brilliant innings or decisive wickets. It will be remembered for an empty podium, a missing handshake, and a trophy left unclaimed. India chose to turn a game into a grudge match, and in doing so it damaged not only cricket but also its own reputation.
If India truly wishes to be seen as a regional leader and a global power, it must abandon the politics of hostility. The world is already losing ground in the struggle for peace. At such a time, South Asia needs reconciliation, not bullying. Cricket, of all things, should remind us that competition can bind nations together rather than drive them further apart.
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