Pakistan Under-19 cricket team mentor and former national captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has criticised India over “unethical conduct” during their ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 final.

The Green Shirts thumped their arch-rivals in the final on Sunday, sparking scenes of jubilation in the Pakistani camp in Dubai.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Sarfaraz slammed the Indian team’s behaviour during the final.

“India’s behaviour regarding the game was not good, and the Indian team’s conduct in cricket was unethical,” he said. “But we celebrated the victory with sportsmanship, because there should always be sportsmanship in cricket; what India did is their own action.”

Cricketing relations between the two neighbouring countries have remained tense due to geopolitical tensions.

In September, India’s Suryakumar Yadav snubbed customary handshakes with Pakistani captain Salman Ali Agha and players during their three Asia Cup 2025 games, including the final.

The absence of the traditional handshake at the conclusion of the matches drew global attention, with observers pointing to a lack of sportsmanship and game spirit from India.

The Indian team also refused to collect the Asia Cup 2025 trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President Mohsin Naqvi after defeating Pakistan in the final by five wickets.

The move reportedly came on the directives of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

‘Cash reward of Rs10m for each team member’

Later, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a cash reward of Rs10 million for each team member in recognition of their historic achievement.

PM Shehbaz announced the reward during a luncheon hosted for the U19 Asia Cup-winning side at the Prime Minister’s Office.

The premier also announced Rs2.5 million for the support staff.

“You gave the opposition a defeat they could not even imagine. We defeated India in Bunyan-um-Marsoos,” he told the players and the support staff.

Acknowledging the side’s triumph, PM Shehbaz said that the Green Shirts had lifted the nation’s head with pride, adding, “You have won the hearts of 240 million people.”

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Mohsin Naqvi said that the credit for the victory in the tournament goes to the team for staying focused on the game.

He also noted that the cricket board was building a High-Performance Centre in Lahore, which would benefit the players.

Palace aides are reportedly diving into action as they are forced to make last-minute changes before releasing an important message from King Charles.

The monarch, who is expected to address the public in a Christmas broadcast as per annual tradition, had received a devastating news of the attacks on Bondi Beach in Australia, for which he was left “appalled and saddened”.

Christmas speech made by the monarch is usually written and pre-recorded before the big day. However, as the attacks in Australia emerged, royal experts have suggested that the lack of mention of the incident, in the country he is also the Head of State for, would reflect badly.

“To remain relevant the King’s festive set-piece has to be responsive to outside events, however awful, that unfurl on the eve of the holiday season,” Sky News Australia correspondent, Tessa Dunlop, remarked.

She explained that since Charles is “well positioned to show leadership in Australia’s hour of darkness”, a Christmas broadcast from a king would “provide balm” to the victims and their families.

The royal author noted that the King has established himself as a “defender of all faiths” so he must try to maintain that.

Although, the King has shown swift action is releasing a statement expressing his thoughts whenever tragedy had struck in one of his states of nations in the commonwealth. It was also no different this time.

Nick Jonas sent his fans into a frenzy with a live rendition of his unreleased song, titled Gut Punch.

On Saturday, December 20, during Jonas Brothers: JONAS20 Greetings From Your Hometown Tour stop in Baltimore, MD, the youngest vocalist of the rock band treated the lucky concert goers with the first ever live performance of his upcoming song.

The following day, he reposted a fan-captured video of the moment on his Instagram Stories.

The TikTok was captioned, “Nick Jonas performs his upcoming solo single Gut Punch tonight in Baltimore.”

The deeply personal track, inspired by self-criticism and learning self-grace, features the lyrics “Hit me like a gut punch, I hurt my own feelings.”

Gut Punch is Nick’s new single from his upcoming solo album Sunday Best, dropping on New Year’s Day 2026.

The 33-year-old musician, who most recently appeared on Broadway in The Last Five Years, has revealed that he will release his new single, Gut Punch, on January 1st.

The track serves as the first look at his forthcoming solo album arriving February 6th via Republic Records.

As for the siblings’ 20th-anniversary tour, Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas are scheduled to perform in New York, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Dec 22.

Followed by a show in Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Fl, on December 30 and a show in Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, FL, on December 31, the tour will finally come to an end with the year 2025.