All controversies for IND vs PAK match - (Source : AFP)
The seventeenth edition of the Asia Cup 2025 was intended to be a small and peaceful event, with eight teams scheduled to play 19 games. However, the recently concluded tournament turned out to be a fiery one, where India and Pakistan locked horns on three occasions, which was for the first time in the Asia Cup's history.
Tensions hit the roof every time the two neighbouring countries locked horns. Further, controversies were bound to happen, and as expected, there was no shortage of drama from both ends. Meanwhile, this article will look at all the India vs Pakistan controversies that hit the Asia Cup 2025.
1. India refuses to shake hands with Pakistan
It all started on September 14 when India and Pakistan met for the first time. India registered a comfortable seven-wicket win. SKY hit the winning runs and quickly rushed to the dressing room without engaging in the post-match handshake ritual.
Further, the Indian team also shut their dressing room doors, which didn't go well with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
2. Suryakumar Yadav dedicates India's win to Pahalgam victims
After the group-stage win, Suryakumar Yadav, in his post-match presser, dedicated the win to the Indian army and the Pahalgam attack victims. The move did not go well with the PCB, and they were hurt by the Indian captain bringing politics onto the sports field.
3. PCB Files Complaint Against Andy Pycroft
PCB were furious over India's act of not shaking hands and dedicating the win to the Pahalgam victims. In reply, the PCB turned their eye towards the match referee, Andy Pycroft. The former Zimbabwe international was blamed for not communicating India's stance to the Pakistan team, which led to the handshake saga.
The board also demanded that the ICC remove Pycroft from the Asia Cup, but the International Cricket Council rejected the plea, citing the match referee to be innocent of any malicious act, which also led to a controversy of its own.
4. Salman Ali Agha Skips Pre-Match Press Conference
A lot was going on in the press regarding PCB's actions against the match referee, and the reporters were curious to get words out of the Pakistan team and their captain, Salman Ali Agha. However, a day ahead of Pakistan's UAE clash, Agha refused to attend the mandatory presser as he feared getting questions on the handshake row and the Andy Pycroft saga.
5. PCB Threatens to Pull Out of the Asia Cup 2025
For Pakistan's third and final group stage game against the UAE, the team were ready to leave for the stadium, but the PCB told the players to stay back as the board decided to boycott the event.
Notably, the ICC had rejected their plea to remove Andy Pycroft, and on top of that, the Zimbabwe professional was appointed as the official for the UAE vs Pakistan match, which the PCB refused to play in the Asia Cup match.
However, the board took a U-turn and continued with the game.
6. PCB Manager Accused Over Pycroft's Apology video
As per the PCB, the reason they agreed to play against the UAE was that Andy Pycroft issued an apology to the team. PCB released a muted video where Pycroft was in the PGMO room with Salman Agha, Pakistan media manager and Mike Hessen.
However, the board were criticised for releasing a muted video and on top of that, the manager was not supposed to take a phone in the room, but he broke the protocols, and a major controversy erupted, with several fans also demanding action against the Pakistan media manager.
7. Sahibzada Farhan's Bazooka Celebration
During the India vs Pakistan super four fixture, Sahibzada Farhan slammed a fifty and celebrated his milestone in a controversial manner. Farhan used the bat as a gun and fired shots in the air, signalling the recent attacks made on India.
8. Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill's Fight With Pakistan Stars
In the super-four stage, the atmosphere was totally different for the India vs Pakistan match as the Pakistan bowlers engaged in a verbal fight with Gill and Abhishek Sharma.
A lot of words were exchanged, and the Indian batters too didn't shy away from giving it back to the Pakistan seamers. The videos and reels quickly went viral on the internet.
9. Haris Rauf's Plane Crash Gesture
Similar to the group-stage match, India registered another comfortable win over Pakistan. Frustrated by the result, Haris Rauf, who was fielding near the ropes, made objectionable gestures towards Indian fans. The right-arm seamer made a 'Plane crash' gesture, which quickly went viral on the internet.
Rauf eventually heard from the ICC for his gestures and was fined 30% of his match fees, and avoided a ban after agreeing not to repeat the mistake again.
10. PCB and BCCI lodge a complaint against each other
Following Farhan and Haris Rauf's objectionable gestures, the BCCI complained to the ICC, whereas the PCB also followed the same and filed a complaint against Suryakumar Yadav for his post-match comments in the first India-Pakistan match of the tournament.
Eventually, Rauf and SKY were handed a 30% match fee, while Farhan was let off with just a warning.
11. Arshdeep's reply to Haris Rauf
Arshdeep didn't hold back, and after the India-Pakistan super four match got over, he also reverted to Haris Rauf, where he made a similar gesture as Haris Rauf and then slammed the Pakistan seamer.
The video too went viral, which upset the PCB, and they planned to file a complaint against the left-arm seamer.
12. Solo Photography shoot for the final
Usually, before the final, both captains pose with the trophy, but in this case, the two captains had their solo shots and didn't come together for a pre-match trophy photography.
13. Different Presenters for the toss
Another interesting thing happened at the Asia Cup 2025 final, where Ravi Shastri walked down with Waqar Younis for the toss. There were two broadcasters for the coin flip as Suryakumar Yadav only spoke to the former India head coach, while Salman Ali Agha responded to Waqar Younis.
14. Jasprit Bumrah's Celebration In the Final
Amid the battles of jets, Jasprit Bumrah had the last laugh on Sunday, after he took the wicket of Haris Rauf and then celebrated the dismissal with the 'Pakistan plane down' gesture.
The incident quickly went viral on the internet, and the Indian fans were all gaga over their premium fast bowler's quality.
15. India Refuse To Take Trophy From Mohsin Naqvi
After India beat Pakistan to lift the Asia Cup title for the ninth time, the Men in Blue refused to take the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi. It led the ceremony by around an hour, but the Suryakumar Yadav-led side didn't change their stance of not interacting with the ACC chairman.
16. Mohsin Naqvi runs away with the trophy
The Asia Cup ended with a lot of drama as Mohsin Naqvi felt humiliated and eventually decided to leave the ground. Further, Naqvi also took the trophy with him, which eventually led the Indian team to celebrate the night without a trophy.
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