Kapil Dev has urged players of India and Pakistan to focus more on cricket rather than off-field controversies. The teams played against each other thrice in the Asia Cup. India, under Suryakumar Yadav, won all three matches, including the finalon Sunday.
However, the biggest headlines came not from cricket but from controversies, which includesIndia refusing to accept the trophy from the Asian Cricket Council chief and Pakistan Cricket Boardchairman Mohsin Naqvi.
Speaking to India Today, Kapil made a request to keep politics away from the sport. “I just want to say — (it’s) your responsibility. (It’s) the responsibility of the entire media also. We should look into the sports side rather than looking into the politics side. Yes, media has the responsibility to bring everything on the table, but as a sportsman, I would like to see that we stick to sports. It will be much better,” said India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain.
The Asia Cup had several tense moments between India and Pakistan. The Indian players did not shake hands with the Pakistani players after the matches. Captain Suryakumar Yadav avoided greeting Salman Agha at the toss. Sahibzada Farhan’s gun-salute celebration and Haris Rauf’s gestures to Indian fans also stirred a lot of debate. After the final, Suryakumar explained that the decision to skip the trophy ceremony was taken on the ground by the players.
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