Pakistan have a chance at redemption as they face India again today in Dubai for the Super Four stage of the Men’s Asia Cup after their last game was marred by a controversy spiralling from the neighbouring team’s refusal to shake hands with their opponents.
The Group A clash between the fierce rivals last Sunday — their first meeting since the four-day military conflict between them in May — ended on a bitter note when the Men in Blue refused to shake hands with the Green Shirts after winning the game. There were no handshakes between the captains at the toss either.
According to Reuters, Indian media have reported that the team plans to stick to its no-handshake policy for today’s clash, which is scheduled for 7:30pm PKT at the Dubai International Stadium.
Match referee Andy Pycroft, whose removal was sought by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over the controversy but was denied by the International Cricket Council (ICC), is still scheduled to officiate today.
Asked about the handshake issue and Pycroft’s presence yesterday, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav changed the subject, saying, “It will be a good contest between the ball and the bat”.
He added: “Close your room, switch off your phone and sleep. I think that’s the best thing to shut the noise. It’s easy to say, but sometimes it is difficult.”
India won all three of their group games, narrowly edging out a brave Oman by 21 runs in Abu Dhabi on Friday, as well as beating Pakistan by seven and the UAE by nine wickets respectively.
Suryakumar, who had seemingly politicised last Sunday’s victory by bringing up the Pahalgam terrorist attack in India-occupied Kashmir, said: “I have been very clear with all the boys. I think it’s very important if you want to do well in this tournament and going forward.
“We will have to shut a lot of noise from outside and take what is good for you.”
Despite India’s triumph in their previous encounter, Suryakumar insisted past results would count for nothing when the rivals meet again in today’s Super Four match.
“I feel our preparation has been really good leading into the tournament. We have also had three good games, so we are actually focusing on what we can do best,” he added.
“We want to follow all the good habits that we have been doing from the last two or three games. We take it one game at a time. It doesn’t give us an edge that we have played them once, and we had a good game. We have to start from scratch.”
Pakistan had cancelled their pre-match press conference yesterday, making it the second consecutive time that they did so following the handshake incident.
Last night, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi met with the Green Shirts in Dubai as they participated in warm-up exercises for today’s match.
Handshake ruckus
Earlier this week, the situation escalated to the point that the PCB was even mulling its participation in the Asia Cup after the ICC rejected its complaint seeking the removal of Pycroft, who PCB said told captain Salman Ali Agha not to shake hands with his Indian counterpart before the match.
However, the situation was finally settled when, just before Pakistan’s match against the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, the PCB said Pycroft “apologised” to the Green Shirts’ manager and captain over the ruckus resulting from “miscommunication”.
Nevertheless, the tournament still had lingering disputes; the ICC reportedly took exception to the PCB recording Pycroft’s “apology” meeting with Pakistan team officials. The event had been marred by controversy before it even began, with calls for a boycott of the game from across the border.
