India, playing Pakistan for the first time since April 2025’s Pahalgam terrorist attack, decided not to exchange any pleasantries with their opponents.
The captain, Suryakumar Yadav, decided against shaking hands with his counterpart, Salman Ali Agha, at the toss, and the entire team did the same even after winning the match.
Naturally, this raised quite a few eyebrows, with Indian fans appreciating the gesture from the Men in Blue. However, former Pakistan fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar, holds a different opinion, and is disappointed.
Akhtar disappointed with IND over no handshakes with PAK
Appearing on the panel of a Pakistani show after the IND vs PAK Asia Cup match, Shoaib Akhtar had this to say on the incident:
“It is disappointing, and I’m speechless, and obviously, you know, it is disheartening, don’t know what to say. But you know, hats off to India, well done, aur bas isko political na banao, cricket match ho raha hai, cricket match ko political na karo“
Here’s an English translation of the quote:
“Don’t make this political. There’s a cricket match going on, don’t politicize the cricket match.“
He continued “Hum acchi acchi baate aapke liye kar rahe hain na, humne koi political statement di aapke liye? Bada kuch keh sakte hain, but handshake karlo, game of cricket hai, show your grace“
Here’s the quote translated in English:
“We are saying nice things for you, right, did we make any political statement for you? We could say a lot, but just shake hands, it’s a game of cricket, show your grace.“
After the match, India’s captain, and later on, Head Coach, Gautam Gambhir, both dedicated the victory over Pakistan to all the Pahalgam terror attack victims and their families, as well as the armed forces.
In response to India’s handshake snub, Salman Ali Agha decided to skip the post-match presentation, which Akhtar supported.
