The Asia Cup, as expected, has created a storm that will take a long time to settle down. Anytime India and Pakistan play each other in the sporting arena, the emotions are always taut and high, and every little bit can add to the tension that pervades. It is even more so when they play on the cricket field, and this time, after the two countries had gone to a brief war barely four months ago, those emotions are very raw and easily aroused.
India made their decision to go ahead and play against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, which caused a massive debate in the country. Another debate arose after the Indian players decided not to engage with the Pakistani players in any manner, with none of the courtesies that are sometimes seen even in the fiercest of contests. So, there was no shaking of hands after the game, as is seen in recent times, where teams line up after the game and shake hands before dispersing to their respective changing rooms.
The PCB complaining about it was hard to understand as there is nothing in the rule books that says handshakes are mandatory. There are many previous instances in different sports, where opponents who have clashed have not shaken hands after their match has ended. The ICC quite rightly ignored the protest, if indeed there was one made as per media reports.
What needs to be looked at is the avoiding of the mandatory media meet on the eve of the match by the Pakistani contingent. They did not have to send the captain, players or the coach. Anyone among the large support staff could have met the media. That did not happen, and it will be interesting to see if any action is taken for avoiding what is mandatory.
The other thing that left a sour taste in the mouth is holding up the game and starting it one hour late. If the PCB had any issues to discuss with and about the match referee Andy Pycroft, then it had two full days after their loss to India and before the game against the UAE in which to do so. By keeping everybody in suspense and not even turning up at the ground until almost the toss time, they held the game to ransom. There is simply no excuse for delaying the start of the game for an hour while haggling to get an apology from the match referee for something that was also not in any of the rule books. Then, despite the ICC, who appoints the umpires and match referees, saying there was no apology given, the PCB insisted that they had secured one and so agreed to play. They pounced on the words ‘regrettable miscommunication’ to say that this was the apology.
Presumably, just to get the game started, the mandarins may have used the word ‘regrettable’, when ‘avoidable’ would have been the apt word, for there was nothing to regret in the match referee informing, if indeed he did so, that the Indian skipper would not shake hands with his Pakistani counterpart. If he did, then it was simply to avoid an embarrassing situation for the Pakistan skipper. To suggest anything other than that actually speaks a lot about the warped kind of thinking. And those who say sport and politics should not mix will see from this episode that it actually does, for why else was a team allowed not to start the game at the appointed hour but for the politics of keeping everything hunky dory. In no other sport would an individual or a team be allowed to delay the start of the game. It has set an unsavoury precedent for sure, and hopefully no other team is allowed to get away with this kind of bullying again.
When the second match came along, there was an improved batting performance by Pakistan in the first half before the loss of three wickets put them on the back foot again, and despite getting big runs in the final three overs, they were 20 runs shorter than what they would have wanted. India breezed to a win after a delightful opening partnership between Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill that took the breath away and crushed any hopes the Pakistanis had of winning the game. In the end, another super-talented batter, Tilak Varma, treated Pakistan’s premier bowler, Shaheen Shah Afridi, like a net-ball spinner and smashed him around to wrap a win with deliveries to spare.
Of course, there were no handshakes but only head shakes from the Pakistan bowlers as to how to bowl to these Indian batters who start the game in fifth gear. There are a few days left before India’s next game, and it will be interesting to see what excuses the Pakistanis come up with this time for another drubbing from the country they love to hate.
Published on Sep 23, 2025