The Indian players chose not to shake hands with PAK players after their game in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025
India and PAK, known for their ugly geopolitical relationship since 1947, showcased another controversial episode in an international cricket match. Following the Pahalgam incident, India and PAK engaged in a skirmish, and since then, the two countries have not let go of a single opportunity to humiliate each other.
After the game between India and PAK, India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav and the entire team chose not to shake hands with PAK players. This was a statement made against the PAK given some of their players had made nasty posts on social media platforms a few months ago. A few days before the match, some ex-players also made provocative statements against India.
For the record, the majority of Indians did not want India to play against PAK, but given that the Asia Cup is a multinational tournament, the BCCI and the government of India allowed India’s participation against PAK. The game went in India’s favour, as PAK was no match for India.
Speaking about the no handshake policy, this isn’t the first instance in the world of cricket.
(Credit- Indian Express)
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have been at odds with each other for nearly 10 years. The ‘Nagin Dance’ celebration was performed by Bangladesh to mock Sri Lankan players. The relationship between the two sides took a more serious and ugly turn when, during the 2023 World Cup, Shakib Al Hasan appealed against Angelo Mathews for taking too much time and had him timed out. Due to this reason, skipper Kusal Mendis and the rest of the team stormed off the pitch without shaking hands. Bangladesh won that game.
In 2022, England secured a Test series against PAK on PAK’s home soil. In the third Test of that series, Muhammad Ali was the last man standing, and the game was out of PAK’s hands. Therefore, towards the end of the game, when England appealed for Ali’s wicket, Ben Stokes went to shake Ali’s hand before the umpire’s final decision. However, Ali chose not to shake Stokes’ hands and waited for the umpire’s decision, which turned out to be an out. While some people thought Ali didn’t need to blow the gesture out of proportion, others felt that Stokes could’ve waited, and there was no need for premature celebration.
Once the face of Nepalese cricket, Sandeep Lamichhane, was arrested for as*aulting a woman in a hotel in Kathmandu. Therefore, when he was part of the ICC's Cricket World Cup League 2 series, Scotland refused to shake hands with him as a sign of protest. In 2024, the High Court in Patan, Nepal, cleared him of all charges.
(Credit- ESPNcricinfo)
Given there are chances of two more India and PAK clashes, it will be interesting to see if India keeps up its bold stance, avoiding any kind of contact with the PAK line-up throughout the tournament.
