Asia Cup: India captain Suryakumar avoids shaking hands with Pak skipper Salman once again

Dubai [UAE], September 21 (ANI): India skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha once again refrained from engaging in the customary tradition of shaking hands before the toss in the Super Fours clash at the ongoing Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday. Throughout the toss, the duo didn’t exchange glances with each other while avoiding each other.

After Suryakumar won the toss and finished explaining the reason behind his decision to field and the couple of changes they made, he turned away and went to join his team. This is the second time the two captains have not shaken hands in the tournament.

During the group-stage encounter between the two neighbouring nations, Suryakumar and Salman turned heads by not engaging in the traditional handshake during the toss. During the toss, neither skipper maintained eye contact nor tried to initiate a handshake and eschewed the gesture.

India’s stance was linked to the strained relations between the two nations in the wake of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, during which 26 tourists were killed on April 22 by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists. After India gunned down the paltry 128-run target with Suryakumar uncorking a towering maximum into the stands, the Indian skipper returned straightaway to the dressing room with his partner Shivam Dube.

During the post-match presentation, Pakistan captain Salman Agha was nowhere to be seen, a move that raised questions.

After the conclusion of the contest, the Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav explained the team’s stance to refuse a handshake with Pakistan and said, while speaking to reporters, “I feel a few things in life are ahead of sportsman spirit. I have told it at the presentation as well. We stand with all the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.”

“We stand with their families also and express our solidarity. As I said, we dedicate this win to our brave armed forces who took part in Operation Sindoor. As they continue to inspire us all, we will try our best to, whenever given the opportunity, inspire them as well if possible,” he added.

Pakistan white-ball head coach Mike Hesson expressed his disappointment about India refraining from engaging in the customary handshake when his side made attempts towards it. Hesson didn’t directly pin captain Salman Agha’s absence due to the incident that took place after the match, but alluded to it obliquely.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) held match referee Andy Pycroft accountable for the entire fiasco and asked for his immediate removal. However, to Pakistan’s angst, the International Cricket Council (ICC) didn’t entertain the plea.

In reply, Pakistan threatened to boycott their must-win fixture against the UAE and cancelled the pre-match press conference for the contest as well. Pakistan players arrived late at the Dubai International Stadium, forcing the game against the UAE to be delayed by one hour on Wednesday.

Pakistan management met Pycroft before the toss and then shared a muted video of the meeting, which led to heavy backlash. Pakistan continued with its pattern of cancelling the pre-match presser on Saturday before taking on India. Despite all the ruckus, Pycroft is still standing in as the match referee on Sunday. (ANI)

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