"Feels good": Suryakumar Yadav praises PM Modi's "front foot" gesture after Asia Cup title win

Dubai [UAE], September 29 (ANI): Men in Blue T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s support and enthusiasm after Team India won their 9th Asia Cup trophy, trouncing Pakistan three times in the tournament, walking away with the title with a five-wicket win in the Asia Cup final in Dubai on Sunday.

After India won the Asia Cup final against Pakistan with a score of 150/5 against Pakistan’s 146/10, PM Modi, in a post on X, referenced “Operation Sindoor on the games field”, likening India’s win to the military operation launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

PM Modi applauded India’s famous win, saying, “Operation Sindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same – India wins! Congrats to our cricketers.”

Speaking with ANI, Suryakumar Yadav, appreciating PM Modi’s support, said, “It feels good when the country’s leader himself bats on the front foot; it felt like he took the strike and scored runs.”

He expressed his admiration for PM Modi’s leadership, saying the players felt motivated and played freely with the country’s leader supporting them.

“Operation Sindoor on the games field. It feels good when the country’s leader himself bats on the front foot; it felt like he took the strike and scored runs. It was great to see, and when the sir is standing in front, then definitely the players will play freely,” said the skipper.

“The most important thing is that the whole country is celebrating. When we go back (to India), it will feel good, and we will get more inspiration and motivation to do well,” he added.

India’s thrilling Asia Cup victory over Pakistan took an unexpected turn when the team refused to accept the trophy from Asian Cricket Council Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman. Despite winning the tournament, Indian players celebrated without the trophy, instead posing with imaginary trophies on stage.

Captain Suryakumar Yadav later expressed disappointment, saying, “I feel we deserved it. I’ve never seen a champion team denied a trophy”. The BCCI had previously informed the ACC that India wouldn’t accept the trophy from Naqvi due to his political role and anti-India remarks.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief and the country’s Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, who humiliated himself on the world stage when he walked off with the Asia Cup trophy after India refused to accept it from his hands, is now claiming that India has disgraced the spirit of the game.

Singed by a resounding defeat at the hands of India, PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi, whose X account is withheld in India, responded on the microblogging platform to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s congratulatory post after the game.

“If war were your measure of pride, history already records your humiliating defeats at Pakistan’s hands. No cricket match can rewrite that truth. Dragging war into sport only exposes desperation and disgraces the very spirit of the game,” said Naqvi.

Naqvi’s lack of understanding of history and facts is clearly exposed, and he needs a stern reminder of the number of times Pakistan has had to bow before Indian superiority during conflicts. Starting from 1971, when Lieutenant General AAK Niazi, commander of Pakistani forces, signed the Instrument of Surrender to the Indian Army, marking the end of the war, to the Kargil Conflict, where former PM Nawaz Sharif admitted that they were at fault for violating the Lahore declaration.

And then Operation Sindoor, where Indian forces first decimated as many as nine terror sites, and then as Pakistan began its misadventure, the Armed forces attacked with force, leaving many air bases like Nur Khan destroyed.

Meanwhile, on the field, India trounced Pakistan as many times and walked away with the title with a five-wicket win in the Asia Cup final in Dubai on Sunday.

Even after the final, drama continued to unfold off the field, with the post-match presentation being delayed by 90 minutes. Eventually, the presentation began, and the India players turned up to collect the individual awards.

During the entire ceremony, Naqvi and the Pakistan players were booed by the Indian fans present at the venue. Kuldeep Yadav, Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma received their individual awards from other dignitaries on stage, while Salman 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. (ANI)

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