ASIA CUP, 2025
After the win, Suryakumar Yadav walked towards Shivam Dube, shook his hand and then walked off, leaving the Pakistani players without acknowledgement © AFP
India captain Suryakumar Yadav said his team gave a proper reply by not shaking hands with Pakistan after their victory Asia Cup match in Dubai. Pakistan coach Mike Hesson later revealed that his side were “ready” to shake hands and were left “disappointed” when their gesture wasn’t reciprocated.
There were unusual scenes at the end of the T20I between the sides, when Suryakumar hit a six to finish the game, walked towards batting partner Shivam Dube, shook his hand and then walked off, leaving the Pakistani players without acknowledgement.
Similar scenes unfolded at the toss, with no handshake between Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and Suryakumar.
“Our government and BCCI, we were aligned. Together, we came here, we took a call and I feel we came here just to play the game. And we gave the proper reply,” said Suryakumar at the post-match press conference.
Pressed on the matter later, Suryakumar elaborated: “See how it is, I feel a few things in life are ahead of sportsman spirit,” the India captain said.
“I have told it at the presentation as well that we actually stand with all the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack. And we stand with their families also, express our solidarity. Also, as I said at the post-match presentation, we dedicate this win to our brave armed forces who took part in Operation Sindoor. And as they continue to inspire us all, we will try our best whenever given an opportunity to inspire them as well, if possible.”
Hesson said Salman Ali Agha’s absence from the post-match presentation was a consequence of India’s stance.
“I think it’s just the flow-on effect of the fact that we were obviously keen to engage and shake hands at the end of the match. That didn’t happen. That was pretty much the end of it,” Hesson said.
“Obviously, we were ready to shake hands at the end of the game. We were disappointed that our opposition didn’t do that. We sort of went over there to shake hands and they were already going to the changing room. That was a disappointing way for the match to play. In a match that we were disappointed in the way we played, but certainly we were willing to go and shake hands.”
On the field, India outplayed Pakistan, and Suryakumar said part of their composure stemmed from “not knowing” the social media noise that surrounded the contest.
“I’ll talk about social media. All the players in my team, the support staff and all, we talked on the first day we came here that we’ll try to cut the outside noise by 75-80%,” Suryakumar said.
“We can easily execute our plans on the ground. I don’t know what’s going on outside because my team keeps me away from all this. And I’m sure the other players and support staff also try to stay away from all this. Only then you can execute on the ground with a clear mind and give your 100%. And the crowd that comes to support helps a little.”
© Cricbuzz
