Asia Cup 2025: 'Do whatever you want' - Mohsin Naqvi makes controversial remark ahead of final

Published - 28 Sept 2025, 20:55 IST | Updated - 28 Sept 2025, 20:55 IST

Mohsin Naqvi, the president of the Asian Cricket Council as well as the chairperson of the Pakistan Cricket Board, has provided a free-hand to the Pakistani players to do whatever they want to do on the field during the Asia Cup 2025 final.

The statement Naqvi has reportedly made has incited Indian media as well as the cricket fraternity in general. This is not the first time Naqvi has made a statement which has caused controversy.

"Do whatever you want, I’ll handle it," stated Naqvi to the players, as per a report by Qadir Khawaja.

Naqvi, a controversial figure in Pakistan cricket, recently uploaded a video of renowned Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, in which Ronaldo could be spotted making gestures of a plane crashing down. This came after a similar gesture made by Haris Rauf during the India-Pakistan Super Four match where he mimicked fighter jets getting shot down while fielding in the deep.

Both Naqvi and Rauf's behaviour did not go down well with the Indian media. Many termed them as "immature", urging that political affairs should not be mixed with sports. Naqvi had recently expressed an anti-India stance when it came to acknowledging the victims of the recent terror attacks in Pahalgam.

Coming to Asia Cup 2025, India and Pakistan faced each other for the third time in this installment of the tournament as they locked horns in the summit clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 28. The previous couple of games before the final were also played at the same venue, with being won by the Men in Blue while chasing.

India come into the summit clash on the back of six wins on the trot. They were given tough fights by Oman (group-stage) and Sri Lanka (Super Four) as the Suryakumar Yadav-led side made plenty of changes in these games after ensuring their qualification to the next stages.