 "Pakistan team waited to shake hands with Indian players but nobody came. Image: SonyLiv")
India captain Suryakumar Yadav and his team decided not to shake hands with Pakistan players after their big 7-wicket win in the Asia Cup 2025 clash on Sunday, September 7. Pakistan coach Mike Hesson later said that his team was “ready” to shake hands but were left “disappointed” when their gesture wasn’t reciprocated by the opposition.
SKY explains team’s stance on no handshake
At the end of the match, after Suryakumar hit a six to finish the chase, he shook hands only with his batting partner Shivam Dube before walking off the field. The Pakistani players lined up to shake hands with Indian players and support staff, but all of them went straight to the dressing room. Suryakumar Yadav explained his team’s stance at the post-match press conference.
“Our government and BCCI, we were aligned. Together, we came here, we took a call and I feel we came here just to play the game. And we gave the proper reply. See how it is, I feel a few things in life are above sportsman spirit,” the India captain said after the match. SKY and Pakistan skipper Salman Agha did not shake hands at the toss as well.
Mike Hesson expresses disappointment
Hesson said that India’s decision not to shake hands triggered Agha’s absence from the post-match presentation. “I think it’s just the flow and effect of the fact that we were obviously keen to engage and shake hands at the end of the match. That didn’t happen. That was pretty much the end of it. We were disappointed in the way we played, but we were certainly willing to shake hands. It was a disappointing way for the match to end,” he said.
On the field, India outplayed Pakistan comfortably. After the match, birthday boy Suryakumar dedicated the win to the Pahalgam terror attack victims and the armed forces. Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir and vice-captain Shubman Gill also did the same. Before the match, there was a lot of noise in India over their decision to play Pakistan in the Asia Cup, with some even calling for a boycott.
However, the BCCI decided to go ahead with the game as planned, garnering backlash from the public. The BCCI cited the Indian government’s policy, which allows teams to participate in multi-nation events even if hostile countries are involved. Despite the social media calls, there was still a lot of buzz around the game, with fans filling the stadium and tuning in online to watch.