India defeated Pakistan by seven wickets in Dubai on Sunday.
There was a huge debate around whether the Indian cricket team should take the field against arch-rivals Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 or not. Though the Suryakumar Yadav-led side did compete in the high-profile clash, they didn’t share the handshakes with opposition players, at the toss and following their emphatic seven-wicket win, sparking a controversy.
After Suryakumar and Shivam Dube returned to their dressing room completing the chase, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and head coach Mike Hesson approached the Indian camp, but no player came out to shake hands. Hesson was visibly annoyed with handshake snub and expressed his frustration during the post-match press conference. He had called their captain’s absence a “flow-on” effect on India’s decision.
“Obviously, we were ready to shake hands at the end of the game. We were disappointed that our opposition didn’t do that. We went over there to shake hands, and they’d already gone into the changing room,” Hesson told reporters.
According to a Cricbuzz report, match referee Andy Pycroft had asked Salman Agha not to shake hands with Suryakumar.
Speaking about India’s stance on the matter in 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.
“We took a team call. We had come only to play. We had given them a reply. Some things are beyond sportsmanship. We dedicate this victory to our armed forces who took part in ‘Operation Sindoor’ and stand with families of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack. We are aligned with our government and the BCCI,” Suryakumar said.
The Men in Blue are currently topping their group with two wins and four points and have almost confirmed their spot in the Super Four stage. They will next lock horns against minnows Oman, who are participating in their first Asia Cup edition, on September 19. On the other hand, Pakistan will take on UAE in the final group stage match on Wednesday, September 17.
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Raising voice for their players, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have filed a strong protest against the Indian cricket team for their ‘unsporting’ behaviour before and after the encounter.
“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.”
Not only that, PCB was furious with Pycroft’s request and wants a sanction against him too with chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief, confirming the development on his X handle (formerly Twitter).
Naqvi wrote, “The PCB has lodged a complaint with the ICC regarding violations by the Match Referee of the ICC Code of Conduct and the MCC Laws pertaining to the Spirit of Cricket. The PCB has demanded an immediate removal of the Match Referee from the Asia Cup.”
Furthermore, PCB has also reportedly issued a warning to boycott their next match against UAE if Pycroft is not replaced. Notably, the Zimbabwean is the designated match referee for the Pakistan-UAE game.
Despite PCB’s action, it is understood that the ICC is set to reject their demands for removal of the match referee.
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