The Asia Cup 2025 had been simmering with tension from the very first India-Pakistan encounter, and by the time the final arrived, the animosity had reached boiling point.
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal has urged the Pakistan Cricket Board to take a firm stand against India's refusal to accept the Asia Cup trophy from PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi.
Meanwhile, Pakistan team management has decided not to interact with media ahead of the Super4 contest.
Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the Interior Minister of Pakistan, will be in attendance when his country takes on India in the Asia Cup final in Dubai on Sunday and it would be interesting to see how the Indian team responds to his presence at the post-match trophy ceremony.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday defended its media manager filming a meeting between match referee Andy Pycroft and team officials ahead of their Asia Cup game against the UAE, maintaining that the action was within ICC protocols.
'There has been no gentlemanness in the game. There have been very rude, arrogant gestures on the field.'
Such is the race for breaking news that if an Indian player sneezes, a report may immediately go out stating he may have caught the flu bug and could be a doubtful starter!
The Men in Blue refused to take the Asia Cup 2025 trophy from Naqvi, who is also Pakistan Interior Minister.
The Asia Cup trophy was ultimately not awarded to champions India in the customary ceremony after they refused to accept it from Naqvi in Dubai on Sunday.
India has filed an official complaint with the International Cricket Council against Pakistan cricketers Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan for their provocative gestures during the two sides' Asia Cup Super 4 game in Dubai on Sunday.
Tickets for the match on September 14 are in huge demand than for any other match. Most journalists are also arriving only in time for this match, even skipping India's opening match against the UAE on September 10.
An irate Mohsin Naqvi ordered Usman Walha's removal 'for the embarrassment caused to the national cricket team and its captain.'
BCCI demanded trophy be handed over to India, but ACC Chairman Mohsin Naqvi "still hasn't agreed", an ACC source.
The tournament had been fraught with tension from the very start, and the animosity carried into the final, which India won by five wickets on a rather long Sunday night.
Salman Ali Agha feels that Indian team's 'No Handshake' policy while playing Pakistan in the Asia Cup was "disrespectful" to the game.
Pakistan withdrew its pullout threat and showed up for a crucial Asia Cup game against the UAE in Dubai on Wednesday but not before causing a delay.
Pakistan have managed three wins in 16 matches in T20Is but they have never beaten India in the ODIs in 11 attempts.
India's first match of the tournament against the hosts United Arab Emirates is scheduled to take place in Dubai on September 10.
'They insulted themselves more after filing the complaint. The complaint shows how immature and juvenile they are.'
Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has backed match referee Andy Pycroft amid Pakistan's criticism in the post-match handshake controversy, saying the Zimbabwean official is not a "school teacher" and was only doing his job to avoid an unnecessary spectacle.
Naqvi, who also heads the Asian Cricket Council, stressed that any future negotiations with the BCCI must be on equal terms.
Pakistan T20I captain Salman Ali Agha broke the silence about playing the format without the nation's batting bigwigs Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam.
Following the government's recent Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, the BCCI promptly cancelled the contract of the Indian team's lead sponsor, Dream11.
There are many Indian fans in Dubai, who, as a mark of protest, have decided to give this match a miss.
'Don't make it political, let cricket be a game.'
Sethi, according to the source, has proposed a Pakistan versus Nepal match and Afghanistan versus Bangladesh, Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka v Bangladesh matches in Pakistan.
Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan on Tuesday didn't mince words while criticising the "not so ideal" scheduling
Pakistan beat Bangladesh, set up first ever Asia Cup final date against India
Pakistan have lodged a protest with the Asian Cricket Council over the Indian players' refusal to shake hands with them following their Asia Cup match.
Pakistan's reported threat to pull out from the ongoing Asia Cup after demanding ICC match referee Andy Pycroft's removal won't be particularly easy
Originally, India were the hosts for Asia Cup 2025 but the tensions against Pakistan have forced the ACC to look for new a host.
T20I skipper Suryakumar's hearing following PCB complaint done in presence of match-referee, board representatives: ICC sources
The future of the Asia Cup -- a six-team tournament, which will be played in T20 format, is clouded in uncertainty.
The Indian team refused to take the trophy from Asian Cricket Council chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the Pakistan Cricket Board chief and known for his vocal anti-India stand.
It has been reliably learnt that late on Tuesday evening, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sent another mail to the ICC reiterating the demand to remove Pycroft from all its games but as of now, it hasn't been obliged by the world body.
Operation Sindoor has not yet been formally called off. What was the crying need to send a team when it was known that there could be a match with Pakistan? asks Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
Surya-led India continued their dominant run in T20I cricket, handing Pakistan their third loss in the head-to-head encounters between these two sides in the final of the Asia Cup at Dubai on Sunday. I
Seldom has an India vs Pakistan clash played with such a volatile backdrop, where cricket seems inseparably knotted with off-field tension, provocative gestures, and fines slapped on both camps.
Mohammed Azharuddin has weighed in on some of the most debated issues in cricket at the moment - the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup fixture
Captain Muhammad Waseem, the UAE's best batter who is known for his aggressive approach and ability to play big shots, got into the act and fetched himself three boundaries in Aamir Kaleem's first over, the 43-year-old left-arm spinner hardly posing any threat as he ended up giving away 14 runs.
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