Pakistan’s Interior Minister and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President Mohsin Naqvi has become the subject of viral videos and social media praise in Pakistan for his handling of the Asia Cup 2025 trophy. A widely circulated clip shows a speaker glorifying Naqvi as a “hero,” claiming he displayed great patience when the Indian team allegedly refused to collect their trophy after winning the final in Dubai on September 28. According to the speaker, Naqvi remained calm on the field, waited for the situation to unfold, and later took the trophy away in his car — an act that Pakistani media has framed as a symbol of firmness and national pride.

In the viral video, the speaker says:

“When he was standing on the ground and the Indian team wasn’t taking the trophy, he showed patience. He kept standing, kept waiting. They thought that if he left, they would take the trophy from someone else. But they didn’t know that our chairman is also the Interior Minister. Later, he handled them aptly, put the trophy in the car, and took it away with him. Now the whole of India is running after the trophy.”

However, the incident has drawn criticism outside Pakistan, with many seeing it as political posturing rather than professionalism. Commentators argue that Naqvi’s actions overshadowed India’s deserved moment of celebration and turned a sporting triumph into a display of ego and authority. While social media in Pakistan lauds his so-called “patience,” others view the episode as an unnecessary attempt to politicise cricket and divert attention from the spirit of sportsmanship that the Asia Cup is meant to represent.