New Delhi: The shadow of Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor loomed over the Asia Cup in the UAE, as Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav aka SKY and his teammates made a statement by refusing courtesies like handshakes and greetings before and after the matches against Pakistan.
SKY was even docked a part of his match fee for mentioning Pahalgam and the Indian Armed forces in his post-match press conference.
On the field, India reigned supreme over Pakistan, winning all three encounters – by 7 wickets in the group league clash, by 6 wickets in Super 4 and by 5 wickets in a close final on Sunday.
As the nation celebrated past midnight, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined in the euphoria with a short but scathing post on social media. “#OperationSindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same – India wins! Congrats to our cricketers,” Modi wrote on X soon after Tilak Varma’s special knock of 69 not out ensured India’s ninth Asia Cup title after some nerve-wracking moments.
A majority of Indians, wanted India to shun Pakistan in the tournament, as #boycottPakistan trended on social media. But going by the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s stance of playing Pakistan in multi-nation tournaments, the men in blue had no option but to face the green brigade.
However, they chose not to interact with the Pakistan players at all, refusing handshakes, pre-final photoshoots et al.