As soon as the Asia Cup 2025 final ended in Dubai, India defeated Pakistan by 5 wickets. The team, captained by Suryakumar Yadav, won the trophy for the ninth time.
But a major drama unfolded amid the celebrations. Indian players flatly refused to accept the trophy and medals from Pakistan’s Home Minister, Mohsin Naqvi. Naqvi, who is also the head of the ACC and PCB, was supposed to present the trophy.
But India asked for someone else to present it, and Naqvi refused. As a result, the players celebrated on the field without any official awards.
Fans, enraged by this, began shouting “Bharat Mata ki Jai.”
Keep cricket away from politics: Kapil’s clear statement
Now, breaking his silence on this entire controversy, Kapil Dev, the captain who led the 1983 World Cup to victory, spoke out. He gave an interview to India Today on Sunday in Dubai.
Kapil said that everyone should focus on cricket and not bring politics into the picture.
He stated bluntly, “I just want to say that your responsibility, and the entire media’s too, is to focus on the sports aspect rather than politics.
Yes, the media’s responsibility is to bring everything out, but as players, I would want us to stick to sports. That would be much better.”
Kapil further appealed to the players and media not to fuel controversies. He said that not shaking hands or accepting the trophy may be a personal choice, but don’t make a big issue out of it.
The Asia Cup has seen numerous dramas before – such as the provocative gestures by Pakistani players in the Super Fours, Haris Rauf’s ‘6-0’ and ‘plane crash’ gestures, or Sahibzada Farhan’s ‘gun’ celebration.
Kapil said that such statements spoil the fun of cricket.
Pakistan’s old shine is gone
Kapil also commented on the current Pakistan team. He said that today’s Pakistani players are a far cry from those of the 80s and 90s.
Back then, stars like Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis dazzled the world.
Kapil simply said, “Yes, I think they don’t have that talent anymore like in the 80s, 90s, or before that. Pakistan has given us, the world, one of the best cricketers. You can talk about Imran Khan, you can talk about Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis of the 90s. They have given us that talent. But unfortunately, we can’t see similar talent today—not even one percent of what they used to have.”
This statement by Kapil may hurt the people of Pakistan, but he believes that it is important to keep cricket clean.
