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Salman Ali Agha addresses Asia Cup 2025 controversies as India maintains No Handshake policy.
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha opened up on the controversies surmounting the ongoing Asia Cup 2025. It all began during the group stage of the continental tourney after India captain Suryakumar Yadav denied handshake and dedicated the 7-wicket victory to the Indian armed forces. The gesture left the Pakistanis baffled, prompting the Mohsin Naqvi-led PCB lodge a formal complaint against the Indian team and match referee Andy Pycroft.
Addressing the matter of shaking hands, Pakistan captain Salman Agha said he never saw such a protest in the past even when the relations between the two nations were worse.
“I started playing U16 cricket in 2007. I never saw any teams not shaking hands. Even when Indo-Pak relations were worse we still shook hands. So, in my opinion, no handshakes in cricket aren’t good in the game,” he added.
📸:💚🇵🇰Journalist, “Salman we have not heard you since 14 September, Indians did not make Shakehand & closed the doors”Salman Ali Agha“I have been playing cricket Since 2007,I have never seen such an attitude from cricketers,these acts are not good for cricket”#AsiaCup2025 pic.twitter.com/ShaXBkov4t
— ????????????❥???????????????????? ???????????????? ????????????????????🏏 (@Bobi_1A) September 27, 2025
India continued with their No Handshake policy in the Super 4s too, where Pakistan lost to arch-rivals by 6 wickets. But this time around, a couple of players hurt the Indian sentiments with their gestures on the field.
While Sahibzada Farhan performed a ‘gun celebration’ after reaching a half-century during India vs Pakistan clash in Dubai on September 21. On the other hand, pacer Haris Rauf made downing of a plane gestures to mock India’s military action after Indian fans chanted “Kohli, Kohli,” referencing the match-winning sixes that Virat Kohli hit off the pacer during the 2022 T20 World Cup game in Melbourne.
Salman said he will not prevent his players from expressing themselves in the final against India, but cautioned them not to be “disrespectful”.
“Every individual has the right to express emotions. If we stop fast bowlers from showing emotions what’s left then? I won’t stop anyone as long as it is not disrespectful,” Agha said.
Agha further said Pakistan lost the previous two matches in the tournament to India because they made more mistakes than their opponents.
“India versus Pakistan matches come with baggage of pressure. In the last two games we lost because we made more mistakes,” he said.
(With PTI Inputs)
A cricket enthusiast whose dreams of playing for India paved the way for a compelling journey in journalism. With a comprehensive coverage spanning international and domestic cricket across formats, I have had …Read More
A cricket enthusiast whose dreams of playing for India paved the way for a compelling journey in journalism. With a comprehensive coverage spanning international and domestic cricket across formats, I have had … Read More
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The post‘When Indo-Pak Relations Were Worse…’: Salman Agha’s Bold Remark On No Handshake Ahead of Asia Cup Final | Cricket News appeared first on News18