Pakistan reached the final of the 2025, but deservingly lost to India, who claimed the title for a record ninth time. Let’s be fair – given the cricket Pakistan played in the Asia Cup – they didn’t deserve to win.
They did beat Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, but it was mainly because of some poor cricket from the teams and a couple of good individual performances from Pakistan.
Apart from being mediocre in the tournament, PCB also created plenty of off-field drama after India refused to shake hands with the Pakistan cricketers. They filed a complaint against match referee Andy Pycroft, accusing him of compromising on sportsmanship, dragged into a controversy for dedicating the win to the victims of the Pahalgam attack, and the worst of them all – the PCB chief running away with the Asia Cup after India refused to take the trophy from him.
The PCB management and politics have ruined Pakistan cricket, and players are made scapegoats. Before the India vs Pakistan Super Four game, Naqvi tried to involve the players in his dirty politics and reportedly asked them to make provocative gestures. Haris Rauf fell prey and was fined by the ICC. After being brutally trolled, the pressure was on him to deliver in the final, but he couldn’t carry the burden of expectations and cost Pakistan the Asia Cup title with a horrible performance. Haris is likely to face the consequences of his bad outing in the final and might be dropped from the Pakistan cricket team for the following series against South Africa.
Saeed Ajmal Recalls Getting Scammed By Pakistan PM
But this is not the first time the politics in the country has betrayed the players. Soon after Pakistan’s defeat to India in the final, an old video of Saeed Ajmal went viral, where he claimed that then PM Yusuf Raza Gilani promised Rs 25 lakh to the T20 World Cup winning team in 2009, but the money was never paid to them.
“I was shocked that even a government cheque could bounce. We were told the PCB chief would handle it, but he refused, saying it was the government’s promise. In the end, the only money we got was from the ICC,” Ajmal told Nadir Ali.
Meanwhile, the BCCI announced a Rs 21 crore reward for the Asia Cup-winning contingent. The BCCI and the Indian government have never shied away from rewarding the players for their great showings – something Pakistan can learn from, which would also keep the players away from corrupt activities for which Pakistan has been embarrassed at global platforms multiple times.