New Delhi, Sept 29 — The Congress party has strongly criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his social media post linking India’s Asia Cup 2025 cricket victory over Pakistan to the military operation “Operation Sindoor,” calling the comparison inappropriate and politically charged.
Following India’s five-wicket win in the final held in Dubai, PM Modi posted on X (formerly Twitter), “#OperationSindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same – India wins! Congrats to our cricketers.” The post drew immediate backlash from opposition leaders, who accused the Prime Minister of politicizing a sporting achievement.
Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe Patil responded sharply, stating, “Sometimes I doubt if PM Modi has any knowledge of foreign policy and diplomacy. If we played, we should have played with sportsman spirit. If Operation Sindoor is ongoing, then we shouldn’t have played. And if discussions are ongoing to normalise the situation, then sports can be a medium to improve it, but linking everything with Operation Sindoor is not right”.
Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sakpal echoed the sentiment, saying, “It is clear from his tweet that, be it air, water, or sports, he brings politics into everything to polarise. We take pride in India’s victory, but we haven’t won the Asia Cup for the first time. There is a certain dignity of a country which he doesn’t maintain, and I regret this”.
The controversy comes in the wake of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack earlier this year, which led to the launch of Operation Sindoor — a targeted military response against cross-border terrorism. Critics argue that invoking the operation in the context of a cricket match undermines the spirit of sportsmanship and risks conflating national security with entertainment.
Adding to the post-match drama, Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi, who also heads the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), reportedly declined to present the Asia Cup trophy to the Indian team. The Indian players refused to accept the silverware from Naqvi, leading to an unusual delay in the presentation ceremony.
Despite the political row, India’s victory was celebrated nationwide. Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 69 and Rinku Singh’s winning boundary in the final over sealed India’s ninth Asia Cup title, reinforcing the team’s dominance in the region.
