Pakistan Under-19 cricket team mentor and former national captain Sarfaraz Ahmed criticized India for their “unethical conduct” during the 2025 ACC Men’s Asia Cup final.
The Green Shirts defeated their arch-rivals in Sunday’s final, sparking scenes of jubilation in the Pakistani camp in Dubai.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Sarfaraz criticized the Indian team’s behavior during the final.
“India’s behavior towards the game was not good and the Indian team’s conduct in cricket was unethical,” he said. “But we celebrated the victory with sportsmanship, because there should always be sportsmanship in cricket; what India did is their own action.”
Cricket relations between the two neighboring countries have remained tense due to geopolitical tensions.
In September, India’s Suryakumar Yadav rejected the usual handshakes with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and players during their three Asia Cup 2025 matches, including the final.
The absence of the traditional handshake at the end of matches attracted global attention, with observers pointing out a lack of sportsmanship and spirit of the game on India’s part.
The Indian team also refused to collect the Asia Cup 2025 trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi after defeating Pakistan in the final by five wickets.
The move reportedly came on directives from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
’10 million rupees cash reward for each team member’
Later, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a cash reward of Rs 10 million for each member of the team in recognition of their historic achievement.
Prime Minister Shehbaz announced the reward during a luncheon organized for the U19 Asia Cup winning team at the Prime Minister’s Office.
The prime minister also announced Rs 2.5 crore for support staff.
“You handed the opposition a defeat that they could not even imagine. We defeated India at Bunyan-um-Marsoos,” he told the players and support staff.
Acknowledging the team’s triumph, Prime Minister Shehbaz said the Green Shirts had lifted the nation’s head with pride, adding: “They have won the hearts of 240 million people.”
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi said the credit for the tournament victory goes to the team for staying focused on the game.
He also noted that the cricket board was building a High Performance Center in Lahore, which would benefit the players.
