The Gentleman's Game To Political Warzone

Image Credit: BCCI(X)

The much awaited India vs. Pakistan matches in the Asia Cup 2025 turned into an arena of political drama instead of unadulterated cricketing excellence, as political tensions following the recent military confrontation spilled onto the pitch with ferocity. India won over Pakistan by seven wickets in their September 14 group stage match in Dubai, but the result of the match was marred by the political gesture that followed. Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav and his men did not shake hands with their Pakistani counterpart both prior to the toss and post match. Yadav defended this move by dedicating the win to the families of 26 terror attack victims of Pahalgam and India's armed forces personnel who were involved in Operation Sindoor.

The controversy stemmed from the gruesome April 22 attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam, where militants of The Resistance Front, which works as a proxy for Lashkar-e-Taiba, targeted and executed 26 tourists after separating them on religious grounds. This lethal civilian strike induced India to initiate Operation Sindoor on May 7, attacking terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir with targeted missile strikes. The September 21 Super Four rematch at Dubai witnessed India win again, this time by six wickets while chasing 172. But this time, Pakistani players' infuriating celebrations became the talking point of the match. Sahibzada Farhan incurred rage after scoring his fifty by gripping his bat like an AK-47 rifle and simulating gunfire in the direction of the Indian dugout. In light of the Pahalgam massacre when terrorists opened fire at close quarters on Hindu tourists, the action was strongly condemned as insensitive. Farhan subsequently expressed no regrets, saying "I don't care what people think" and claiming it was an impromptu gesture. Pakistan pace bowler Haris Rauf retaliated against "Kohli, Kohli" taunts from Indian crowd with a "6-0" gesture, probably impersonating falling fighter jets. This was in response to Pakistan's unsubstantiated boast of downing six Indian Air Force planes on Operation Sindoor, even as India's strong air defense mechanisms successfully intercepted Pakistani drone and missile attacks. Rauf had been overheard chanting "6-0" while

Pakistan trained in the presence of Indian journalists. The in game taunts sparked political discussion in India about whether the team should have boycotted Pakistan altogether. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut had denounced Farhan's gesture as showing "how Pakistani terrorists killed 26 innocent people in Pahalgam, gunning them down like it was nothing". The Pakistan Cricket Board's efforts to stir up the handshake controversy by calling for match referee Andy Pycroft's ouster were turned down by the ICC. Pakistan even suspended pre match press conferences to prevent media attention, and PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi went to desperate lengths to try and pep up players with personal visits. The political drama notwithstanding, India's cricket dominance was never in doubt. The team stretched their record against Pakistan to seven straight wins across all formats. Abhishek Sharma's 74 off 39 balls and Shubman Gill's 47 underpinned easy runs in both games. Captain Suryakumar Yadav confidently asserted after the second win that the Indo-Pak rivalry is no more, mentioning the one sided head to head record. The matches showed how the age old cricketing rivalry has become a one way affair, with Pakistani players resorting to ever more desperate taunts as their on field performances continued to fail them. What might have been festivities of cricket's finest rivalry turned out to be reminders of how political rivalry infects sporting competitions and how real cricket lovers longed for the days when bat and ball spoke louder than political differences.