Former India great breaks silence on Asia Cup controversy, gives reality check to Mohsin Naqvi

Legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev shared his thoughts on the controversial Asia Cup 2025 final between India and Pakistan, which took place in Dubai on Sunday. He urged everyone to focus on cricket rather than politics amid the Asia Cup drama.

The final saw Team India defeat Pakistan by five wickets to claim the title for the ninth time, but the celebrations sparked fresh controversy. The Indian team, led by Suryakumar Yadav, refused to accept the trophy and medals from Mohsin Naqvi.

Naqvi, who is Pakistan’s Interior Minister as well as the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), was officially entitled to present the awards, as the ACC organized the tournament. However, due to ongoing tensions between the two nations, Yadav declined to receive the trophy from Pakistan’s Interior Minister. Naqvi, in turn, refused to delegate the honor to someone else, forcing the Men in Blue to celebrate their victory without officially receiving the awards.

The tournament had already seen tensions flare up before the final. This included Suryakumar Yadav and his team refusing to shake hands with Pakistani players, as well as provocative gestures from Pakistan players like Haris Rauf’s “6-0” and “plane crash” celebrations and Sahibzada Farhan’s “gunshot” celebration during the Super Four match.

Kapil Dev emphasized that cricket should remain a pure sport, free from political influence. The 1983 World Cup-winning captain highlighted the responsibility of players and the media to prioritize the game over controversies. 

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"I just want to say—your responsibility, and responsibility for the entire media also, is that we should look into the sports side rather than looking into the politics side. Yes, media has the responsibility to bring everything to the table, but as a sportsman, I would like to see that we should stick to sports. It will be much better," said Kapil during a recent interaction.

Reflecting on Pakistan’s performance, Kapil Dev pointed out that the current team does not possess the exceptional talent that characterized the ’80s and ’90s, when players like Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, and Waqar Younis dominated world cricket. He added,

"Yeah, I think they don’t have the similar talent they used to have in the ’80s, ’90s or before that. Pakistan has given us, to the world, one of the best cricketers. You can talk about Imran Khan, you can talk about Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Akram, and’90s, Waqar Younis. They have given us that talent. But unfortunately, we can’t see similar talent today—not even one percent of what they used to have."