The relationship between India and Pakistan has long been strained. In May, the conflict over the Kashmir region resumed and over 70 people were killed during four days of attacks from both sides, according to AFP.
Prior to the cricket final in Dubai, the Indian players did not want to shake hands with the Pakistanis and the team chose not to lift the trophy after their victory.
The reason was that the trophy was presented by Mohsin Naqvi, chairman of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and Pakistan's interior minister.
We players made a decision on the field not to accept the trophy, says India's team captain Suryakumar Yadav.
Pakistan's team captain responded by calling the Indian players poor role models.
We stood there and took our medals. I do not want to use hard words, but they have been very disrespectful, says Salman Agha.
The political reactions did not take long to arrive. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi compared the victory to the country's military action against Pakistan in May.
"#OperationSindoor on the field. The result is the same - India wins! Congratulations to our cricketers.", he wrote on X.
ACC Chairman Mohsin Naqvi responded to the message shortly after on X:
"If war was the measure of your pride, history has already documented your humiliating defeats against Pakistan. No cricket match can change that history".
After the attacks in May, the countries were able to agree on a ceasefire.
Naturally beautiful region in the western end of the Himalayan mountain range, about a third the size of Sweden. During the British colonial rule, the area was a princely state.
At independence in 1947, the ruler, the maharaja, was faced with the choice of belonging to Pakistan or India. Unrest broke out, both countries deployed military and war broke out. The conflict ended in a stalemate and a so-called line of control between the northern parts of Kashmir, controlled by Pakistan, and the southern parts taken by India.
Despite two more wars since then, this line serves as a provisional border to this day.
The India-controlled part had long had fairly extensive autonomy, but it was withdrawn in 2019. Parts of the Pakistani side are called Azad Kashmir ("Free Kashmir") and have relatively great self-determination within Pakistan.
China is also involved, and holds the inhospitable northeastern parts of Kashmir.
