Pakistan's Asia Cup Final Loss
India defeated Pakistan in Asia Cup final. India was not presented the trophy by ACC Chairman Mohsin Naqvi in the ceremony. He had earlier criticized Pakistan for sponsoring terrorist attacks. It was only after that when Pakistan's captain Salman Agha made a statement against the Indian cricket team. As far as he was concerned, cricket had been disrespected by India. Although some people thought this was an emotional outburst at being defeated, his later actions were criticized worse.
Trophy and Check Controversy
During the award ceremony, the trophy and prize check are awarded to the winner first traditionally. As Mohsin Naqvi was the President of ACC, India did not receive them. Pakistan had to content themselves with the runner-up award. Salman Agha accepted the check at the podium. Instead of accepting it as it is, he threw it aside after saying a few words to the commentator. The move surprised everyone. Most people thought it was inappropriate since they had criticized India for poor sporting spirit. Donation Declaration and Responses
Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav had already declared in the post-match that he would donate his match fee to the Indian Army. Salman Agha too did the same in rapid succession shortly thereafter. It was on the basis of his information that his players would be donating their fees to the families of the victims of "Operation Sindoor." Critics pointed out, however, that Operation Sindoor had entailed no reported casualties of terrorists. This left him open to allegations of his statements actively promoting terrorism.
Past Incidents and Criticism
Pakistani fast bowler Haris Rauf had earlier been fined for indecent conduct during the Super-4 stage. Mohsin Naqvi, instead of criticizing the action, offered to pay the fine himself. It was only upon the announcement of donation by Salman Agha that Indian supporters became irked. They argued that such actions sent the wrong message and detrimentally affected the sport of cricket.
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