The Crossbill Sports Desk
Pakistan’s cricket board has lodged a formal protest with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) following the Indian men’s team’s decision not to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts after Sunday’s (September 14) Asia Cup match in Dubai.
After chasing down a target of 128 runs to win the match, Indian players bypassed the customary handshake and proceeded directly to the changing room. Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav indicated that the gesture was linked to the recent Pahalgam terror attack, for which New Delhi has blamed Pakistan.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) expressed strong disapproval, with team manager Naveed Cheema “lodging a strong protest [with the ACC] against Indian players’ behaviour of not shaking hands,” calling it “unsporting.”
The PCB statement condemned the alleged decision by match referee Andy Pycroft to “[request] the captains not to shake hands during the toss,” according to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn.
When asked if the team had decided prior to the match not to shake hands with their opponents, Yadav told the media that the Indian government and the Board of Control for Cricket in India “were aligned together” and that he felt “we came here just to play the game.”
He added, “I think … we gave the proper reply.”
Pressed further on whether the decision was unsporting, Yadav said, “some things in life are ahead of the sportsman’s spirit.”
He elaborated, “We stand with all the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and we stand with their families also. As I said at the press conference, we dedicate our win to our brave armed forces who took part in Operation Sindoor, and as they continue to inspire us all, we’ll try our best whenever given an opportunity to inspire them as well. If possible.”
The controversy comes in the aftermath of the April 22 terror attack in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam, where three terrorists targeted and killed 26 civilians. This attack prompted New Delhi to carry out airstrikes on what it termed ‘terrorist infrastructure’ in Pakistan as well as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7, as part of Operation Sindoor. The ensuing escalation led to a four-day military conflict between the two nations.
Mike Hesson, Pakistan’s white-ball coach, expressed his team’s disappointment over India’s decision. He told reporters that his team was “disappointed” and that the absence of captain Salman Agha from the post-match presentation was directly linked to the incident.
“Well, look, obviously we were ready to shake hands at the end of the game. We obviously were disappointed that our opposition didn’t do that,” Hesson said.
He added, “We sort of went over there [to the dugout] to shake hands and they’d already gone into the changing room. So it was a disappointing way, obviously, for the match to finish, in a match that we were disappointed in the way we played, but certainly were willing to go and shake hands.”
On Agha’s absence from the post-match ceremony, Hesson explained it was a “flow-in effect” of the handshake not taking place despite Pakistan’s willingness.
“That was pretty much the end of it,” he said.
India won the match by seven wickets with 25 balls to spare, chasing the target of 128 runs.
After chasing down a target of 128 runs to win the match, Indian players bypassed the customary handshake and proceeded directly to the changing room. Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav indicated that the gesture was linked to the recent Pahalgam terror attack, for which New Delhi has blamed Pakistan.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) expressed strong disapproval, with team manager Naveed Cheema “lodging a strong protest [with the ACC] against Indian players’ behaviour of not shaking hands,” calling it “unsporting.”
The PCB statement condemned the alleged decision by match referee Andy Pycroft to “[request] the captains not to shake hands during the toss,” according to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn.
When asked if the team had decided prior to the match not to shake hands with their opponents, Yadav told the media that the Indian government and the Board of Control for Cricket in India “were aligned together” and that he felt “we came here just to play the game.”
He added, “I think … we gave the proper reply.”
Pressed further on whether the decision was unsporting, Yadav said, “some things in life are ahead of the sportsman’s spirit.”
He elaborated, “We stand with all the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and we stand with their families also. As I said at the press conference, we dedicate our win to our brave armed forces who took part in Operation Sindoor, and as they continue to inspire us all, we’ll try our best whenever given an opportunity to inspire them as well. If possible.”
The controversy comes in the aftermath of the April 22 terror attack in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam, where three terrorists targeted and killed 26 civilians. This attack prompted New Delhi to carry out airstrikes on what it termed ‘terrorist infrastructure’ in Pakistan as well as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7, as part of Operation Sindoor. The ensuing escalation led to a four-day military conflict between the two nations.
Mike Hesson, Pakistan’s white-ball coach, expressed his team’s disappointment over India’s decision. He told reporters that his team was “disappointed” and that the absence of captain Salman Agha from the post-match presentation was directly linked to the incident.
“Well, look, obviously we were ready to shake hands at the end of the game. We obviously were disappointed that our opposition didn’t do that,” Hesson said.
He added, “We sort of went over there [to the dugout] to shake hands and they’d already gone into the changing room. So it was a disappointing way, obviously, for the match to finish, in a match that we were disappointed in the way we played, but certainly were willing to go and shake hands.”
On Agha’s absence from the post-match ceremony, Hesson explained it was a “flow-in effect” of the handshake not taking place despite Pakistan’s willingness.
“That was pretty much the end of it,” he said.
India won the match by seven wickets with 25 balls to spare, chasing the target of 128 runs.
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