Former Pakistan cricketers voiced disappointment after Team India did not participate in the customary post-match handshakes following their comprehensive win in the Asia Cup group stage clash. India captain Suryakumar Yadav, in his post-match presentation speech, referred to the Pahalgam terror attack and took a moment to honour the contributions and sacrifices of the Indian Armed Forces.
At the toss, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav refrained from shaking hands with Salman Agha and later, after sealing the win for India with a six, he and Shivam Dube headed straight towards the dressing room. The team then closed the door, leaving the Pakistan players waiting for a handshake.
After the match, ex-Pakistan cricketers Kamran Akmal and Basit Ali almost had a meltdown on live television while sharing their views on the handshake controversy.
“Kamran Akmal said that, for the first time in the history of cricket, he saw after the toss the captains didn’t shake hands. Basit was saying, “Now what will happen? Will there be no handshake after the match either?” Apparently, after today’s match, the teams didn’t do any handshake. This is a very bad topic, bad for the game. Actions like these spoil the entire sport with such petty behaviour,” the show anchor said in the video going viral online from ARY Sports show.
Basit Ali questioned India’s conduct, saying players refusing handshakes sets a poor precedent. He warned that such behaviour, if repeated in ICC events, would draw criticism globally and urged players to uphold the spirit of the game.
“This is the Asia Cup, right? What will happen when it’s an ICC event, the World Cup? If handshakes don’t happen, what will the ICC head do—because he’s Indian. Yes, I’m saying Jay Shah. It makes one think: if players don’t shake hands, do they expect to become heroes? Whoever understands cricket, knows the game, or writes about it, will never appreciate such conduct—whether Pakistani, English, or Australian, nobody will appreciate this,” he added.
“This isn’t helping cricket get better”
Akmal also shared his take and claimed that the Indian players were forced not to shake hands with the Pakistan players.
“Today, I’ve seen that after the toss, there was no handshake; Bumrah stood at point, took a catch, and after the match, again no handshake occurred. This isn’t helping cricket get better. In my opinion, things will get worse—players’ reputations are being harmed by such acts. I truly consider this a very petty behaviour. The players were forced into it due to pressure.” he added.
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