E-Paper
Sign in
Suryakumar Yadav's India told to 'leave politics behind' after Asia Cup drama with Pakistan: ‘Very depressing the way…’
1983 World Cup-winner Syed Kirmani advised Suryakumar Yadav's India to keep politics out of sport, saying, the Asia Cup did not paint a pretty picture.
Syed Kirmani, the former India wicketkeeper-batter and 1983 World Cup winner, categorically advised Suryakumar Yadav and his team not to mix politics with sports after the Asia Cup 2025 drama reached a crescendo after the summit clash against Pakistan. The Indian camp refused to accept the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). Naqvi, who also happens to be the Interior Minister of Pakistan and chairman of the PCB, repeatedly made statements against India during the tournament, and even his social media included several posts against the country.
Taking note of the situation, the Indian camp refused to budge from their stance, and in the end, there was no trophy presentation as Naqvi made his way out of the stadium, seemingly taking the title with him to his hotel room.
The Asia Cup 2025 began with no handshakes between India and Pakistan players after the group stage match. Suryakumar then dedicated the victory to the Indian Armed Forces, saying his team stood in solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.
India and Pakistan played each other on three occasions in the Asia Cup, and all three encounters witnessed plenty of bad blood between the players from both teams.
Also Read: Shoaib Malik sides with Mohsin Naqvi as PCB chairman goes AWOL with Asia Cup trophy
“The way cricket is being played all around — I won’t like to take the names of the countries — by and large, there has been no gentleman-ness in the game. There have been very rude, arrogant gestures on the field. I’m not referring to only the Asia Cup,” Kirmani told news agency ANI.
Also Read: Pakistan told to 'never play against India' after Asia Cup presentation ceremony row
He also revealed that he was receiving messages from friends around the world asking him, "Indian team ko kya ho gaya hai? Yeh kya politics chal rahe hain on the field? (What has happened to the Indian team? What is this politics that is being played out on the field?"
"I’m ashamed to listen to the comments from my friends. My friends say, ‘Your time was different. You played like gentlemen. But what has happened to the current era of cricketers globally?'” he added.
'Have to put my foot down'
Following India's Asia Cup 2025 victory, Suryakumar announced that he would donate his match fees from all seven games to the Indian Armed Forces. However, this gesture hasn't gone down well with Kirmani, as he asked the Indian captain not to make such announcements.
The eight-team Asia Cup was held in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and the consequent Operation Sindoor.
“It is very depressing to me the way things are going on in the sporting field, particularly in cricket. It is not the right thing that has happened. Politics should not be involved in sports in general. Leave politics behind. Whatever has transpired away from the sporting field, leave it there itself. Don’t relate it to your winning amount or whatever you are earning from this great game of cricket," said Kirmani.
"Don’t dedicate it to political causes. In our time, cricketers had such wonderful camaraderie. Pakistani players coming to India, us going to Pakistan. What hospitality, what love, what affection. I have to put my head down as a cricketer,” he added.
