Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s congratulatory message to Team India on Monday for its stunning win at the Asia Cup finals, in which he mentioned ‘Operation Sindoor’, has sent the Pakistani leadership into a tizzy. Modi, in a post on X, remarked that India’s stunning win against Pakistan was an “Operation Sindoor on games field”.
Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif took it upon himself to defend his team and country, posting about the “spirit of cricket”, but his hypocrisy got exposed as he couldn’t help but mention the conflict with India in the same sentence. Asif accused the Prime Minister of “destroying the culture and spirit of cricket” and then went on to vainly proclaim his country’s “victory” in Operation Sindhoor.
Pakistani Interior Minister and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who was snubbed by the Indian Team by refusing to accept the victor’s trophy from him, also joined the Pakistani campaign against “politicising sport”. “Dragging war into sport only exposes desperation and disgraces the very spirit of the game,” Naqvi said in a post on X.
However, the same Naqvi had eagerly reposted an image on X, showing Pakistan cricketers, including captain Salman Agha and fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, wearing flight suits and with airborne fighter jets in the background. The image was titled ‘Final Day’ and posted before Pakistan took on India in the finals.
Naqvi had posted a picture of Cristiano Ronaldo depicting a crashing plane. He is also the first PCB chief without a background as a professional cricketer. Naturally, his appointment was met with criticism as, prior to his role at the PCB, he served as the caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab.
For all his preaching, Naqvi has also been accused of scuttling the decision that Khalid al Zarooni, the vice-chairman of the Emirates Cricket Board, would do the honours of giving away the trophy for the winners. He was also seen leaving the stadium after Pakistan collected the runners-up trophy, and many believe this was because he couldn’t stand the sight of the Indian team being photographed with the trophy.