Pakistan captain follows Suryakumar Yadav's footsteps, donates match fee to 'Operation Sindoor victims'

Asia Cup final was marked by high drama after India refused to take winning trophy from ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi.

Pakistan cricket team captain Salman Ali Agha has announced that the team will donate its match fees to the “civilians and children” affected during India’s Operation Sindoor.

Pakistan's captain Salman Ali Agha during a practice session.(AFP)

“As a team, we have decided to donate our match fees to the civilians and children affected by India’s attack,” Agha said at the post-match press conference.

Earlier, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav had announced that he would donate his entire match fee from the Asia Cup to the country’s armed forces and the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack. Twenty-six people were killed in the attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam in April. In retaliation, India launched Operation Sindoor against Pakistan a fortnight later, targeting terror camps across the border.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's skipper also took a jibe at the Indian cricket team after they refused to take trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the head of Asian Cricket Council. Agha termed India's action “disappointing” and said, “They are not disrespecting us by not shaking hands, they are disrespecting cricket. Good teams don't do what they did.”

While India's Kuldeep Yadav, Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma received their individual awards from other dignitaries on stage, Agha accepted the runners-up cheque from PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. The Indian players did not acknowledge Naqvi. The ACC chairman didn't applaud the Indian players who came up to receive their personal accolades.

The BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia later disclosed that India had refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy during the presentation ceremony from ACC Chairman Naqvi, who also serves as Pakistan's interior minister.