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“You bowl very well, please accept this cricket bat as a gift from me.”
You must remember when Virat Kohli gave a bat to Mohammad Amir in 2016. And if you’ve forgotten that, then surely you recall Kohli and Mohammad Rizwan’s warm embrace after a match in 2021. In the past, whatever the state of Pakistan–India relations might have been, it never affected the cricketers on the field. But now things have reached a point where Indian cricketers have locked their dressing room doors just to avoid shaking hands with Pakistani players.
After their defeat in the war, the Indians are frustrated, and they’re venting that anger on the cricket field. Otherwise, they wouldn’t act so foolishly. I still give cricketers a little margin—perhaps the poison of hatred hasn’t completely seeped into their bodies yet—but they remain under the influence of their board and government. After the captains’ press conferences, when Suryakumar Yadav was criticized for shaking hands with Mohsin Naqvi and Salman Ali Agha, the rest of them must have been scared too.
Thankfully, we are not like this. In our country, you’ll find youngsters wearing Kohli’s jersey at the stadium or even riding their motorbikes, and no one bothers them. Even if Salman Ali Agha were to hug an Indian cricketer during a match, no one here would call him a traitor. But in India, things are different. They’ve turned the Asia Cup into a Cup of Hatred right from the start. If they didn’t want to play, then why did they come?
Clearly, the reason is money. Broadcast contracts guarantee at least two Pakistan–India matches in every Asia Cup. Groups are arranged so that after the first round, Pakistan and India inevitably become A1 and A2. Obviously, teams like UAE and Oman don’t make it to the next stage. So last Sunday we had a Pakistan–India clash, now again this Sunday in the Super Four, and if both teams reach the final, there’ll be a third match the following Sunday. Three matches guaranteed—everyone cashes in.
On one side, such hatred that they refuse to shake hands. On the other, the greed to earn money by playing these matches. This is hypocrisy at its peak. Officially ICC stands for International Cricket Council, but when both its Chairman Jay Shah and Chief Executive Sanjog Gupta are Indians, who will listen if Pakistan complains about violations of the Spirit of Cricket?
Boycotting the tournament was almost on the cards, but PCB gave in at the last moment. Now Indian media is shouting that the referee never apologized, only expressed regret. They even raised objections about the Pakistani media manager entering the players-and-officials-only zone and making a video. If ICC really sent such an email, then it must investigate who within the organization is leaking important information to the media. Interestingly, all these “email stories” were broken by India’s state news agency. That proves this is all happening at the government’s behest.
Not just the referee, but some ICC officials also seem to be facilitating India. When Pycroft held a meeting with Pakistan’s captain and team management, ICC’s British GM Wasim Khan was also present. Was he even allowed in the PMO area? The Pakistani media manager had an accreditation card; it’s not like he sneaked in and hid under a sofa to make a video. He was right there in the open—why didn’t anyone stop him at the time?
The video wasn’t even recorded with sound, because our purpose wasn’t to insult the referee but to clarify our position. Still, the Indians object, asking why the video was muted. If Pycroft didn’t apologize, then why didn’t he tweet or ICC issue a press release denying PCB’s claim? If Indian media had its way, they would have the entire tournament canceled.
ICC needs to wake up. This controversy won’t end with one event; the World Cup is coming up too, and then the Council itself will suffer losses. Before Sunday’s match, the referee should hold a meeting with both captains. If the Indians don’t want to shake hands, fine—let that be decided beforehand. PCB has already said the same thing a few days ago. Pakistani players were already under pressure due to defeat; these non-issues only added to their worries.
Even the uncertainty before the UAE match had a negative effect. That’s why the board has hired a psychologist to boost the team’s morale with lectures. Pakistan’s press conference has also been canceled, which is a correct move, since Dubai is full of Indian media who would only ask Salman controversial questions. Staying away from negativity is the right decision.
Oman has already shown that strong performances against India are possible. Our players should be shown Oman’s match footage along with motivational speeches. Team selection is such that many batters, despite repeated failures, are still playing—because there are no replacements on the bench. Once again, we’ll have to hope that one of Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Haris, or Mohammad Nawaz can produce a big score. Shaheen Afridi can’t always play an aggressive innings at the end. Similarly, the bowlers—Shaheen included—must all perform better.
If Pakistan wins this match, it will not only wash away the stain of the previous defeat but also brighten the chances of reaching the final. Let’s see how the Green Shirts perform this time.
