Salman Agha feels that Indian team’s ‘No Handshake’ policy while playing Pakistan in the Asia Cup was “disrespectful” to the game and not the best example of sportsmanship for the young fans who look up to cricketers as role models. India beat arch-rivals Pakistan by five wickets in a highly volatile Asia Cup final here on Sunday to win their second tournament title in the T20 format.
“What India have done this tournament is very disappointing. They are not disrespecting us by not shaking hands, they are disrespecting cricket. Good teams don’t do what they did,” the Pakistan skipper said at the post-match press conference. For Salman, fulfilling obligations is a part of playing the sport. “We went to pose with the trophy (photo shoot) on our own because we wanted to fulfil our obligations.
We stood there and took our medals. I don’t want to use harsh words but they’ve been very disrespectful.” Salman claimed that Suryakumar has been a different person in public when it came to exchanging courtesy compared to how he behaved in private. “He shook hands with me in private at the start of the tournament, both at the pre-tournament press conference, and when we met in the referee’s meeting.
But when they’re out in the world in front of the cameras, they don’t shake our hands. “I’m sure he’s following the instructions he’s been given, but if it was up to him, he’d shake hands with me.” Salman tried to justify Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi’s decision to stand on the presentation dais before walking away with the trophy. He said India were not awarded the trophy as they didn’t want to collect it from the PCB chief.
“Everything that happened today was a consequence of all that happened (before). Of course, the ACC president will give the trophy to the winners. If you won’t take the trophy from him, how will you get it?” he countered. He felt that at some point this kind of things needs to stop. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen this happen. Whatever happened in this tournament was very bad, and I hope it stops at some stage because it’s bad for cricket.”
The Pakistan captain said these kind of incidents will set a wrong example for budding cricketers. “I’m not just a Pakistan captain, I’m a cricket fan. If a kid is watching in India or Pakistan, we’re not sending them a good message.” Why it unfolded the way it did is a question only India should answer, Salman said. “People think of us as role models, but if we’re behaving like this, we’re not inspiring them. What happened shouldn’t have happened, but you should ask the people (of India) responsible for this rather than me.”
While concluding his press conference, Salman, apparently in an afterthought, claimed that the match fees of the entire Pakistan team will be donated to the families of those who died during the ‘Operation Sindoor’. The Asia Cup was being held in the backdrop of border tensions between India and Pakistan after 26 tourists were killed by terrorists in Pahalgam earlier this year leading to military action by India under Operation Sindoor.
