Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha threw away the runners up cheque after the narrow loss to India in the Asia Cup 2025 final. In the title clash, Tilak Varma slammed an unbeaten 69 to anchor India’s chase of 147, a target which they achieved with five wickets and two balls to spare. While stitching stands of 57 and 60 with Sanju Samson (24) and Shivam Dube (33), Tilak shattered Pakistan’s hopes of a shock win. Agha was visibly dejected after his side’s third straight defeat to India in the tournament.
During the post-match presentation ceremony, Agha threw away the runners-up cheque in frustration after receiving it from Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) representative, Aminul Islam. However, he was booed by the crowd over the same.
Salman agha gadiki ekkado kalinattu vundi lucha gadu#INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/GkEn7deKZj
— (@itachiistan1) September 28, 2025
Speaking after the loss, Agha admitted that the result was a tough pill to swallow.
“Yeah, it is a tough pill to swallow right now. But I think we did not finish well with the bat. And bowling, I think we were outstanding. We gave everything. But yeah, if we could have finished well, it could have been a different story. I think we couldn’t rotate the strike properly. And then we, I think, lost too many wickets at times. So I think that was the reason we couldn’t score what we wanted,” he said.
He blamed the batters, including himself, for not giving the bowlers enough runs to defend on a two-paced track.
“But yeah, we’re going to sort out our batting very, very soon. Yeah, yeah, they bowled really well. I think they bowled outstandingly well at one time. I think they needed like 63 in 6 overs. I thought we had the game. But yeah, I think the bowlers bowled really well. So we have to give them credit. Very proud. I think we bowled really well. And I’m very proud as a team. And we as a team are very proud. And we have so much to look forward to. And we will continue to improve and we will come back stronger,” Agha added.