'Pakistan PM gave Rs 25 lakh cheque, but it bounced’: Spinner Saeed Ajmal's video goes viral after India wins Asia Cup final

An old video of former Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal has gone viral after India’s win in the 2025 Asia Cup final. In the clip from a 2023 podcast with YouTuber Nadir Ali, Ajmal recalled that Pakistan’s 2009 T20 World Cup-winning team received reward cheques of PKR 25 lakh from then-Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, but the cheques later bounced.

Saeed Ajmal recalls embarrassing moment

Ajmal said, “We were given the cheques… but they bounced. I was shocked that even a government cheque could bounce. They told us the PCB chairman would handle it—but he said it was the government’s promise, not theirs. In the end, all we got was the prize money from the ICC.”

Each player had been promised PKR 25 lakh as a reward for the historic win, but the episode turned into a public embarrassment for Pakistan cricket.

Comparisons with Indian team rewards

The clip resurfaced just hours after India’s Asia Cup triumph in Dubai. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a Rs 21 crore reward for the team, sparking comparisons with the way Pakistan’s champions were treated.

One viral post quoted Ajmal saying, “Pakistan PM gave me a ₹25 lakh cheque for winning the Asia Cup. But when I went to the bank, they said the government account was empty.”


Ajmal, who took 12 wickets in Pakistan’s 2009 campaign and later rose to become the No. 1 ODI bowler, also said he received no financial recognition for his personal achievements. “I was named in the ICC Team of the Year in 2012 and 2013, but there was no reward, no money. ICC doesn’t pay you for that, they just put your name on the list,” he said.

The viral video has triggered renewed discussion on how Pakistan’s sporting heroes have been treated by the authorities compared to other cricketing nations.