Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha has followed in the footsteps of his India counterpart Suryakumar Yadav in donating his match fees for families of Pakistani citizens that he claimed had died in ‘Operation Sindoor’ carried out by Indian armed forces.
In fact, speaking at his post-match press conference after India beat his side by five wickets in the final, Agha said that all members of the Pakistan team had decided to donate their match fees to victims.
“We, as a team, the whole team, we are donating our match fees to our civilians and our children who were affected in the Indian attack that happened (Operation Sindoor). We are all donating this to them,” Agha announced right at the end of his press conference almost as an afterthought while answering his last question.
Just before him, India captain Suryakumar Yadav had addressed the media along with opener and tournament top-scorer Abhishek Sharma. There, Yadav had announced that he would be donating his match fees to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attacks and the armed forces.
“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,” Yadav posted on his social media handles.
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Yadav had already taken a strong stand not to shake hands with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha three times, including in Sunday’s final. After the first India vs Pakistan group stage game had ended in a seven-wicket victory over their arch-rivals for the Men in Blue, Yadav had said: “This is the perfect occasion to take the time out and say that we stand by the victims of the families of Pahalgam terror attack. We express our solidarity. Want to dedicate the win to all our armed forces who showed a lot of bravery. Hope they continue to inspire us all and we give them more reasons on the ground whenever we get an opportunity to put a smile on their face.”
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The Asia Cup was being held in the backdrop of border tensions between India and Pakistan after 26 tourists were killed by terrorists in Pahalgam earlier this year leading to military action by India under Operation Sindoor.
(With inputs from PTI)
The postPakistan captain Salman Ali Agha says Pakistan team will donate match fees to ‘victims’ of Operation Sindoor | Cricket News appeared first on Indian Express
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