The Asia Cup 2025 has been a hotbed of both exciting cricket and notable controversies. The match between India and Pakistan in the group stage was the source of significant unrest. The Indian team declined to shake hands with the Pakistani players. The repercussions of this incident included a delay in the start of the Pakistan-UAE match by an hour. Furthermore, the Pakistan Cricket Board is under scrutiny for alleged violations of tournament protocols. In response to these events, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has decided to take action.
To reduce the tension generated by the high-stakes India-Pakistan match at the Asia Cup 2025, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has taken a major step. The ACC has issued new guidelines to journalists, requesting that they avoid asking political questions during press conferences. This action is intended to help ease tensions between India and Pakistan. The press conference following the handshake controversy on Sunday saw Indian journalists raising sharp questions, which created a difficult situation for the ACC’s media department.
Before the press conference with Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav before the match against Oman, an ACC media officer specifically asked Indian journalists to refrain from any politically-charged questions. The ACC’s media department is currently under review for its management of the controversy. The situation was further complicated when UAE captain Muhammad Waseem was repeatedly questioned about Pakistan’s late arrival to a match earlier in the week.
Additionally, a senior ICC member expressed concerns about the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) actions. The member inquired why the Pakistani team did not attend the mandatory press conference while participating in a practice session. This press conference was meant to occur before the match between Pakistan and the UAE, but no one from the Pakistan team attended.
