India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav came out in defense of his team’s decision not to shake hands with Pakistan players on Sunday, explaining that it was a move taken in alignment with the Indian government and cricket board. The tense episode followed India’s emphatic seven-wicket win over Pakistan in a Group A Asia Cup clash in Dubai.
From the very start, emotions were running high as the match was the first between the two rivals since military tensions earlier this year. The April attack in Pahalgam which killed 26 people had led New Delhi to restrict cricketing ties with Pakistan only to multi-nation tournaments. Therefore, while India cleared the team to play, the government’s stance was reflected in the players post-match behavior.
On the field, however India delivered a dominant performance. Chasing a modest target of 128 Suryakumar himself scored an unbeaten 47 guiding India to victory in just 15.5 overs. Meanwhile, left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav dismantled Pakistan’s batting line-up returning impressive figures of 3-18 as Pakistan stumbled to 127-9 in their allotted 20 overs.
Nevertheless, the end of the game overshadowed the cricketing spectacle. Instead of the customary handshake, Indian players walked straight into their dressing room. In response, Pakistan boycotted the post-match ceremony. Their head coach, Mike Hesson, expressed evident disappointment, saying.
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