An Advisory to the Indian Cricket Team: Upholding Sportsmanship in a Politicized Era

An Advisory to the Indian Cricket Team: Upholding Sportsmanship in a Politicized Era

By aligning with a government narrative that is actively questioned both internationally and by domestic opposition, the players are now inextricably linked to a much broader and more damaging controversy.

By Rakesh Raman
New Delhi | September 29, 2025

Introduction: The Erosion of the Gentleman’s Game

The game of cricket has long been cherished as a contest of skill, character, and mutual respect—a “gentleman’s game.” However, recent events during the 2025 Asia Cup have cast a long shadow over this ideal, threatening the very integrity of the sport by blurring the line between athletic competition and political spectacle.

The on-field conduct of the Indian team has sparked a serious debate about the role of athletes in an increasingly polarized world. This advisory serves as a critical examination of these events and a call for India’s cricketers to reclaim their primary role as sportsmen, not as instruments in a political theater.

The core of the controversy stems from India’s victory over Pakistan in the Asia Cup final on September 28, 2025. While the win itself was a moment of triumph, it was regrettably marred by the team’s public refusal to accept the championship silverware from Pakistan’s minister and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president, Mohsin Naqvi.

This act was not an isolated incident but the culmination of a pattern of behavior that injected raw political tension onto the pitch. To safeguard the legacy of Indian cricket, it is imperative to deconstruct these actions and understand the forces that influenced them. This analysis will proceed with a detailed breakdown of the specific on-field conduct that breached long-standing sporting protocols.

Deconstruction of On-Field Conduct: A Breach of Sporting Protocol

To fully grasp the gravity of the situation, it is essential to deconstruct the specific on-field actions that transpired. These were not mere lapses in judgment but calculated gestures that allowed simmering political tensions to manifest as unsportsmanlike behavior. This analysis moves beyond the scoreboard to examine how the ethos of international sport was compromised, moment by moment, through a series of deliberate snubs that transformed a sporting arena into a political platform.

The Handshake Snub: Precedent for Politicization

The groundwork for the final controversy was laid two weeks earlier, on September 14, 2025. During a Group A clash, the Indian team refused the customary pre- and post-match handshakes with their Pakistani counterparts—a fundamental ritual of respect in international sport.

The gesture was led from the top, with Captain Suryakumar Yadav pointedly avoiding the handshake with Pakistan’s captain, Salman Agha, at the toss. The snub was then repeated by the entire team after India secured a seven-wicket victory. In response, Pakistan’s captain Salman Agha boycotted the post-match presentation ceremony, escalating an already tense situation.

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When questioned, Captain Yadav provided a justification that explicitly merged political grievance with sporting conduct. He declared the victory a “proper reply” to Pakistan and offered a chilling re-evaluation of sporting values, stating, “Few things in life are ahead of the sportsman spirit.” He further confirmed that this stance was in alignment with the Indian government and the BCCI, dedicating the win to victims of the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack and the armed forces involved in the subsequent “Operation Sindoor.”

The Trophy Refusal: A Public Disavowal of Sportsmanship

The handshake snub set the stage for the tournament’s regrettable climax. On September 28, after defeating Pakistan in the final, the victorious Indian team staged a public refusal to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Mohsin Naqvi. This act concluded a tournament mired in controversy, linked not only to India’s actions but also to alleged provocative gestures from Pakistan’s cricketers on the field. While on-field provocations may have exacerbated tensions, the Indian team’s calculated response elevated the dispute from a sporting spat to an overt political statement, seemingly pre-aligned with a government directive.

This sequence of events moves the discussion from what happened to the far more complex question of why—exposing the political forces allegedly influencing these actions from behind the scenes.

The Political Playbook: Unveiling the “Smokescreen”

To understand the cricketers’ actions is to first understand the concept of the political “smokescreen.” As outlined by critics and a recent research report, the conduct on the field appears to be a symptom of a larger political strategy orchestrated by the Modi government. This strategy allegedly leverages hyper-patriotism and national security issues to create a diversion—a smokescreen—to mask pressing domestic political challenges and rally public support through manufactured outrage.

The direct link between the players’ behavior and the government’s narrative is unmistakable.

• The cricketers publicly cited their actions as a direct reaction to the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack and the retaliatory “Operation Sindoor” in May 2025.
• However, a critical counter-narrative alleges that Prime Minister Modi “poisoned the minds” of “uneducated and pliable Indian cricketers” by blaming Pakistan for the attack without presenting any evidence.
• This connection was cemented by Prime Minister Modi himself in a congratulatory tweet that read: “Operation Sindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same – India wins! Congrats to our cricketers”.

The research report, “Unveiling the Smokescreen of Indian Democracy: Fabricated Factors Masking Electoral Manipulation,” dissects this “smokescreen” theory in greater detail, providing a framework for understanding the political context:

• Distraction from Electoral Fraud: The report’s core allegation is that the Modi government intentionally incites anti-Pakistan and anti-Muslim sentiment. This is framed as a deliberate tactic to conceal widespread electoral manipulation, including alleged electronic voting machine (EVM) fraud, which has led to opposition leaders branding the Prime Minister a “Vote Chor” (Vote Thief).
• Questionable Narratives: The official government narrative is under scrutiny, as the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack have not been identified. Senior opposition leaders, including former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, have questioned the official story, suggesting the possibility of “homegrown terrorists.”
• Pattern of Blame: Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has highlighted a recurring pattern where the Modi government attributes attacks to Pakistan without conclusive evidence, a claim often disputed by international bodies such as the IMF, FATF, and the UN Security Council, suggesting a disconnect between domestic political rhetoric and international findings.

When cricketers become entangled in such complex and contested political strategies, they expose themselves to severe personal and professional consequences.

The Peril of Political Pawnship: A Cautionary Analysis for Players

Allowing oneself to become a pawn in a high-stakes political game carries severe personal and professional risks. When athletes trade their autonomy for political alignment, they wager their global reputation, their personal integrity, and the very legacy of the sport they represent. The perception shifts from independent sportsman to “pliable” instrument of the state, a label that, once applied, is difficult to shed.

By aligning with a government narrative that is actively questioned both internationally and by domestic opposition, the players are now inextricably linked to a much broader and more damaging controversy. The gravity of this entanglement can be understood through the following points:

1. Demands for International Probes: The players’ actions are now part of a history that includes mounting calls for independent, UN-supervised investigations into not only the Pahalgam attack but also other major incidents, including the Pulwama attack (2019) and the Mumbai attacks (2008).
2. Historical Scrutiny of Leadership: The team has aligned itself with a political leadership that is subject to significant global scrutiny. This includes the 2023 BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question” and the Prime Minister’s previous US visa revocation related to his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat events.
3. Domestic Political Turmoil: The backdrop to this controversy is a nation described as grappling with “unprecedented poverty, corruption, inflation, unemployment, lawlessness, and religious animosity.” The players’ actions are seen by critics not as a defense of the nation, but as a distraction from this widespread suffering, further embroiling them in the heated “Vote Chor” campaign led by the opposition.

This perilous position necessitates a clear and principled path forward, one that disentangles the sport from partisan politics and restores the players’ primary identity as athletes.

The Path Forward: A Call for Principled Independence

Despite the immense political pressures, Indian cricketers possess the agency and the platform to uphold the highest standards of their sport. The path forward requires a conscious and deliberate choice to champion sportsmanship over partisanship. This final section serves as a charter for conduct—a call for principled independence that can safeguard both the players’ careers and the soul of Indian cricket.

As an advisory, the following principles are offered for consideration and adoption:

• Principle 1: Distinguish Patriotism from Partisanship. Serving your country on the field is a noble act of patriotism. This is fundamentally different from serving the political agenda of a specific government. True patriotism in sport is demonstrated through excellence, dedication, and fair play—not by echoing partisan talking points or participating in political stunts.
• Principle 2: Uphold the Spirit of the Game. A cricketer’s fundamental responsibility is to the sport itself. This means behaving as a true sportsman, showing respect to opponents, and upholding the values of fair play at all times. This duty is magnified, not diminished, when competing against a historic rival like Pakistan, where sportsmanship can serve as a powerful bridge.
• Principle 3: Resist Co-option. Actively resist being co-opted into political messaging. Maintain a professional and dignified distance from narratives designed to incite hatred, disrespect opponents, or serve a political “smokescreen.” Your identity is that of an elite athlete, and that identity must be protected from political exploitation.

The legacy of Indian cricket is now in your hands. Your duty to the sport, and to the millions of fans who look to you for inspiration, is to ensure that the cricket pitch remains a sanctuary for a contest of skill and spirit. It must never be allowed to devolve into a proxy battlefield for political conflict. The world is watching. Choose to be remembered as great sportsmen, not as political pawns.

By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.

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