ASIA CUP 2025
India and Pakistan did not shake hands after the end of the Asia Cup game © AFP
After India beat Pakistan by seven wickets in their Asia Cup fixture in Dubai, the post-match presentation was held up for several minutes. When it did take place after a short delay, Salman Ali Agha didn’t show up for it. India captain Suryakumar Yadav as well as Player-of-the-Match Kuldeep Yadav were in attendance though.
“Team manager Naveed Cheema lodged a strong protest against Indian players’ behaviour of not shaking hands,” PCB said in a statement. “It was deemed as unsporting and against the spirit of the game. As a protest we did not send our captain to the post-match ceremony.”
Earlier, in the press conference, Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson had called Agha’s absence a “flow-on” effect of India’s decision to not shake hands, both at the toss and after the match was completed.
Cricbuzz understands that match referee Andy Pycroft reached out to Salman Agha at the toss, requesting him not to shake hands with his Indian counterpart Suryakumar.
PCB is understood to be miffed with Pycroft’s approach but later changed tune, choosing not to name him in their press release. Sources from the Indian camp suggest that Suryakumar also did not shake hands with UAE captain Muhammad Waseem at the toss but both the teams did exchange handshakes after the match was done.
Speaking about India’s stance at the post-match press conference, Suryakumar had said that “a few things in life are ahead of sportsman spirit” and that his team “gave a proper reply” to Pakistan.
© Cricbuzz
