IPL franchise lodges unique protest against Pakistan ahead of India's Asia Cup showdown against arch-rivals

The build-up to Sunday’s Asia Cup meeting between India and Pakistan has been somewhat underwhelming compared to past showdowns between the two-arch rivals, with tickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium yet to be sold out more than two weeks after going on sale.

Plenty of Indian cricket fans, meanwhile, continue to criticise the BCCI for allowing the fixture to go ahead months after the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which was then followed by a four-day military conflict between the two nuclear-armed nations.

Punjab Kings lodges unique protest against Pakistan

Indian Premier League franchise Punjab Kings, which had finished runners-up under Shreyas Iyer’s leadership earlier this year, came up with a unique form of protest against the Pakistan cricket team in the build-up to Sunday’s clash in Dubai.

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The PBKS social media team, known for its witty takes on matches as well as the latest affairs in the cricketing world, put up a promotional post for India’s second match of the ongoing continental event in the United Arab Emirates. The only difference, however, was the fact that there was no mention of the team they would be playing against.

While the post included images of India captain Suryakumar Yadav and vice-captain Shubman Gill, SKY’s Pakistani counterpart Salman Ali Agha, however, was not included in promotional graphic for the Indo-Pak clash. The post, additionally, also had the incomplete hashtag ‘INDv’ instead of ‘INDvPAK’.

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Here’s PBKS’ post for the upcoming showdown:

Game 2️⃣ for the defending champions. Let's goooo 💪#AsiaCup2025 #INDv pic.twitter.com/BgeoRfJjMo

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) September 11, 2025

The BCCI had been advised by fans as well as some former cricketers to boycott all cricketing fixtures against Pakistan across formats and divisions, which led to speculation that the Asia Cup might end up getting cancelled.

However, the Indian board ended up giving their nod for the event to go ahead and for the two arch-rivals to square off for the second time this year during an Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting that took place in Dhaka in July.

Additionally, the Government of India later gave its approval for the Indo-Pak clash to go ahead, stating that while bilateral competitions between the two nations remain banned, they can continue to play each other in ICC and ACC events.