Pakistan captain Salman Agha has strongly criticised India for what he described as “disrespectful behaviour” during the Asia Cup final in Dubai.
Agha Calls Out India’s Behaviour
Speaking after Pakistan’s narrow defeat in the final, Agha expressed disappointment over India’s refusal to shake hands or accept the trophy directly from the ACC president and PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚’𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚’𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕. 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚,” 𝑨𝒈𝒉𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆.
Pakistan players ended up posing with the runners-up medals alone after waiting more than 90 minutes for the presentation ceremony to begin. India eventually received the trophy in an unusual manner, refusing to take it from Naqvi, which Agha suggested was the result of tensions that had built up over the tournament.
No Handshakes, No Spirit of the Game
Throughout the Asia Cup, India avoided customary handshakes with Pakistan before and after matches. Agha insisted he had no personal issues with Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav, suggesting the behaviour was more institutional than individual.
“𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑰𝒇 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒉𝒆’𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕. 𝑰’𝒎 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆’𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔,” 𝑨𝒈𝒉𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
The Pakistan captain stressed that such actions were “detrimental to cricket”, setting a poor example for fans and young viewers on both sides of the border.
Agha’s Final Word
Agha admitted he had never witnessed such conduct in professional cricket, even during historically tense India-Pakistan clashes.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen this happen,” he said. “If a kid is watching in India or Pakistan, we’re not sending them a good message. We should be role models, but if this continues, it’s harmful for the game.”
With the Asia Cup wrapped up, Agha hopes the episode will serve as a reminder of the importance of cricket’s traditions and spirit of sportsmanship.
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