After India’s victory in the Asia Cup 2025 final, a sour Pakistani reporter questioned the captain’s actions towards the Pakistani squad during the competition. Suryakumar Yadav responded with a clever comment. India won the title after defeating Pakistan for the third time in the competition, although this time the rivalry was more about the controversy than the cricket.
After the first match between the two teams, Suryakumar and the Indian squad refused to shake hands with the Pakistani players, which triggered the flow of events. Following the final, the Indian team celebrated without the Asia Cup trophy after refusing to take it from Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the Asian Cricket Council and the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Salman Agha, the captain of Pakistan, even went so far as to say that the Indian team disrespected cricket following the final.
A reporter from Pakistan questioned Suryakumar during the press conference about whether he was the first skipper to bring politics into cricket.
“Today you are champions, you played a great game. But the question is, throughout this tournament your behavior towards the Pakistan team has been noticed — you didn’t do handshakes, you didn’t take part in the photo session with the trophy, then you held a political press conference. Do you think that in the history of cricket you are the first captain who has brought politics into the game of cricket?” asked the reporter.
Before he could respond, Suryakumar was asked not to respond by the media advisors. The media area was rocked by the Indian captain’s jest that the reporter was becoming irate. The captain of India stated that he was unable to comprehend the reporter’s question before continuing.
“Do I have to answer or not? You’re getting angry. I couldn’t even understand your question — you asked four questions at the same time,” said Suryakumar.
In a touching homage, Suryakumar declared that he will donate all of his Asia Cup match earnings to the Indian armed forces.
“I personally want to give all my match fees from this tournament (from all the games) to the Indian army,” Suryakumar Yadav said at the post-match press conference.
