New Delhi
The Under-19 Asia Cup 2026 has reached its final stage but just before the title match, an incident on the field has created a new uproar on social media. A Bangladeshi cricketer came into controversy during the first semi-final match of the tournament played between Pakistan and Bangladesh on Thursday. Just before the start of the match, when the players of both the teams were going on the field for the national anthem, this Bangladesh player kissed the flag of Pakistan, the video of which is now going viral on the internet.
There was an uproar when the video went viral
It can be clearly seen in the viral video that after kissing the Pakistani flag, the player also respected the adjacent Bangladesh flag by saluting it. However, cricket fans have not liked this at all. On social media, users are expressing their strong displeasure over this action and are giving sharp reactions to this action of the player. Many fans have criticized this behavior and even raised the demand that such players should not be allowed to come to India in future and play in leagues like IPL.
Lakhs of girls were raped in 1971
Behind the heavy criticism regarding this incident on social media, there is also the dark history of Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 which has not been forgotten till date. During that war, systematic sexual violence and torture was used as a weapon of war against approximately two to four lakh Bengali women and girls by the Pakistani Army and local Razakar militias.
This kind of thing has happened before too
This is not the first time that someone associated with Bangladeshi cricket has been embroiled in controversies regarding the Pakistani flag. Earlier, a similar incident had come to light during the Asian Games when Bangladesh women's cricket team captain Nigar Sultana had come into limelight during an important match against Pakistan. At that time, Nigar Sultana also had to face heavy criticism from the fans after an incident related to the Pakistani flag falling on the ground.
Pakistan won by 9 wickets
Apart from the controversy outside the field, if we look at the results of the game, in the first semi-final, Pakistan Under-19 team defeated Bangladesh by 9 wickets in a one-sided match and booked the ticket to the final. On the other hand, the Indian Under-19 team also confirmed its place in the title match by defeating Afghanistan in the second semi-final.