Asia Cup 2025: Mohandas Pai hails Suryakumar Yadav’s gesture towards armed forces, slams BCCI to reject ‘blood money’
The discussion around ethics and leadership overlapped with India’s emphatic run in the 2025 Asia Cup. India defeated arch‑rival Pakistan in the final after having beaten them in the group and Super Four stages.
- Sep 29, 2025,
- Updated Sep 29, 2025 4:43 PM IST
Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai praised cricketer Suryakumar Yadav for donating his match fees to support the Armed Forces and families impacted by the Pahalgam terror attack. Pai described the gesture as “leadership by example” and urged all players to act similarly, while criticising the BCCI for accepting what he termed “blood money.”
“Thanks much Captain SKY. This is Leadership by Example. Hope all players do this. Never accept Blood Money. Hope @BCCI and @JayShah will do the same. Big shame on @bcci for taking blood money of our martyrs,” he posted on X (formally twitter).
Yadav had announced via X: “I have decided to donate my match fees from this tournament to support our Armed Forces and the families of the victims who suffered from the Pahalgam terror attack. You always remain in my thoughts. Jai Hind.” His decision has been widely lauded as an act of solidarity with the nation’s armed forces and the affected families.
The discussion around ethics and leadership overlapped with India’s emphatic run in the 2025 Asia Cup. India defeated arch‑rival Pakistan in the final after having beaten them in the group and Super Four stages.
The final was not without controversy. During the toss, Yadav again skipped the handshake with Pakistan’s Salman Ali Agha. In the post‑match ceremony, the Indian team refused to accept the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi — head of the ACC and also chief of the PCB — and Nigerian officials delayed proceedings. Indian players cited Naqvi’s contested position and remarks as justification, with the ceremony proceeding instead to distribute individual awards. As commentator Simon Doull announced:
“I have been informed by the Asian Cricket Council that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight. So that does conclude the post‑match presentation.”
On the field, chasing 147, India slipped early — Abhishek Sharma made 5 off 6, Shubman Gill 12, and Yadav fell for 1 off 5 to Shaheen Afridi. But the middle order held firm: Tilak Varma scored an unbeaten 69, and with support from Sanju Samson (24) and Shivam Dube (33), Rinku Singh sealed victory with 4 runs as India finished 150/5 in 19.4 overs, winning by five wickets and lifting the Asia Cup.
Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai praised cricketer Suryakumar Yadav for donating his match fees to support the Armed Forces and families impacted by the Pahalgam terror attack. Pai described the gesture as “leadership by example” and urged all players to act similarly, while criticising the BCCI for accepting what he termed “blood money.”
“Thanks much Captain SKY. This is Leadership by Example. Hope all players do this. Never accept Blood Money. Hope @BCCI and @JayShah will do the same. Big shame on @bcci for taking blood money of our martyrs,” he posted on X (formally twitter).
Yadav had announced via X: “I have decided to donate my match fees from this tournament to support our Armed Forces and the families of the victims who suffered from the Pahalgam terror attack. You always remain in my thoughts. Jai Hind.” His decision has been widely lauded as an act of solidarity with the nation’s armed forces and the affected families.
The discussion around ethics and leadership overlapped with India’s emphatic run in the 2025 Asia Cup. India defeated arch‑rival Pakistan in the final after having beaten them in the group and Super Four stages.
The final was not without controversy. During the toss, Yadav again skipped the handshake with Pakistan’s Salman Ali Agha. In the post‑match ceremony, the Indian team refused to accept the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi — head of the ACC and also chief of the PCB — and Nigerian officials delayed proceedings. Indian players cited Naqvi’s contested position and remarks as justification, with the ceremony proceeding instead to distribute individual awards. As commentator Simon Doull announced:
“I have been informed by the Asian Cricket Council that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight. So that does conclude the post‑match presentation.”
On the field, chasing 147, India slipped early — Abhishek Sharma made 5 off 6, Shubman Gill 12, and Yadav fell for 1 off 5 to Shaheen Afridi. But the middle order held firm: Tilak Varma scored an unbeaten 69, and with support from Sanju Samson (24) and Shivam Dube (33), Rinku Singh sealed victory with 4 runs as India finished 150/5 in 19.4 overs, winning by five wickets and lifting the Asia Cup.