What happened after the end of the final match of Under-19 Asia Cup 2025, brought politics into discussion more than sports. The reason became the final of Under-19 Asia Cup 2025, in which the runner-up Indian team refused to take the medal from the hands of Mohsin Naqvi during the medal ceremony. This entire incident was seen on Sunday, 21 December, which once again exposed the tension present in India-Pakistan cricket relations.
Distance from medal ceremony, question raised again
Usually, after the end of the final match, both the teams go to the podium, but this time the Indian team chose a different path. Indian players did not reach the stage and collected their runner-up medals from International Cricket Council (ICC) Associate Member Director Mubashir Usmani. On the other hand, ACC President Mohsin Naqvi handed over the trophy to the Pakistan team and was seen celebrating with them on the stage.
This is not the first time that the Indian team has refused to accept honor from Mohsin Naqvi. Earlier this year, in the final of the Senior Men’s Asia Cup, the Indian team had refused to accept the winning trophy from them. At that time India had become the champion and Pakistan was the runner-up.
The echo of the old dispute was heard again
During the Senior Asia Cup, the trophy ceremony also started with a delay of about an hour. At that time Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Interior Minister of Pakistan, had refused to hand over the trophy to any other official. Not only this, Naqvi later brought the trophy with himself to the ACC headquarters. BCCI was angry with this decision and the matter reached ACC and ICC, but till now the trophy has not been handed over to India.
It is believed that the Indian Cricket Board is taking such decisions due to Naqvi’s anti-India social media activities and political tension between the two countries.
Pakistan’s big victory in the final
Talking about the final of Under-19 Asia Cup, in this match played in ODI format, Pakistan defeated India in a one-sided manner by 191 runs. Sameer Minhas played a brilliant inning of 172 runs for Pakistan and the team scored 347 runs.
In reply, the Indian team could not survive despite a fast start. Runs were scored in the initial overs, but due to continuous fall of wickets the entire team was reduced to 156 runs in just 26.2 overs. Pakistan’s fast bowlers Ali Raza, Mohammad Syam and Abdul Subhan performed brilliantly.
