Dubai, September 29, 2025: Former India captain Kapil Dev has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the Asia Cup 2025 final, urging players and the media to keep cricket separate from politics.
India defeated Pakistan by five wickets to secure their ninth Asia Cup title, but celebrations turned contentious after the team, led by Suryakumar Yadav, declined to receive the trophy and medals from Mohsin Naqvi, Pakistan’s Interior Minister and head of both the PCB and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). Naqvi, who was formally entitled to present the awards, refused to delegate the task, leaving India to celebrate without an official trophy handover.
The incident followed earlier flashpoints in the tournament, including India’s refusal to exchange handshakes with Pakistani players and provocative celebrations from some Pakistanis, such as Haris Rauf’s “6-0” gesture and Sahibzada Farhan’s mock “gunshot” celebration.
Kapil Dev, India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain, called for restraint and perspective.
“Your responsibility, and the media’s responsibility, is to look at the sporting side rather than the political side. As a sportsman, I would like to see us stick to sports — it will be much better,” he said during a recent interaction.
Reflecting on Pakistan’s cricketing standards, Kapil Dev remarked that the team lacks the generational talent of the ’80s and ’90s.
“Pakistan once gave the world greats like Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis. Unfortunately, today we don’t see that level of talent — not even one percent of what they used to have,” he said.
