For the government’s critics, the spectacle exposed double standards. For detractors of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), it was proof of commercial priorities overriding conscience. For defenders of the Narendra Modi government, it was all the cricket board’s doing,
The cricket may have been one-sided but the aftermath of Sunday’s India–Pakistan Asia Cup clash in Dubai has snowballed into a political and public relations storm with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) caught in the crosshairs.
India’s comprehensive win under Suryakumar Yadav was overshadowed by the skipper’s refusal to shake hands with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha or the rest of his team after the match. Even when the visitors walked up to the Indian dressing room, the doors were firmly shut.
Later, Suryakumar explained that the move was intended as a “message” in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. But he admitted the idea wasn’t his own.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has since lodged a complaint with the Asian Cricket Council, calling the absence of the customary handshake a breach of sportsmanship.
Back home, the decision to play Pakistan so soon after the Pahalgam terror attack – and when the government is drumming-in the success of Operation Sindoor – has triggered outrage, with many seeing the BCCI being cast as the fall guy for the Modi government.
Writer Varun Grover summed up the mood in a post on X: “Cute that fanbois are boycotting the match and players but not the board, politicians, and the government that is forcing our players to play it. Also clearest proof yet again that BCCI doesn’t care about or represent India — it cares only about money.”
Journalist-turned Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose went further: “The decision to play #IndiaVsPakistan cricket was taken by the MODI government and NOT by the BCCI. Modi says ‘blood and water can’t go together’… but terror and cricket can go together because of the BIG MONEY! Shame on the Modi government.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray echoed: “All the nautanki of the BCCI stands exposed. The match was ‘scheduled’ as a ‘Sunday blockbuster’ for money.”
Others targeted BCCI’s symbolism.
Popular X handle The Skin Doctor ridiculed the dedication of the win to the Pahalgam victims as “deshbhakti ka chooran.” He added: “Even now, they are shameless enough to not say… all the earnings of the board and players from Asia Cup will be given to the Army Battle casualty fund. That would have been some bare minimum salvation.”
Another user asked bluntly why there were no black armbands, no minute’s silence, and no formal condemnation of terror: “Cricket & cash matter more than courage & country? History won’t remember the wickets taken today, but will remember the silence that spoke louder than words.”
Amid the noise, netizens also underlined the overlap between cricket administration and the government.
One pointed out: “BCCI President is Rajeev Shukla, Sports Minister is Mansukh Mandaviya, ICC President is Jay Shah. Thank you for your attention.” The user added a clip of Arnab Goswami raining fire at the cricket board for the match.
Either way, the post-match fallout has ensured that the talking point from Dubai is not India’s easy win, but who exactly bears the blame. The board, or the government that presides over it?