 "Gautam Gambhir's remark to Indian players over shaking hands with umpires is going viral as Pakistan captain Salman Agha was forced to make a U-turn. Images: SonyLIV/AP")
Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir’s remark over handshake boycott is going viral as the Men In Blue scripted a stylish six-wicket win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday , their second consecutive win over the arch-rivals in the ongoing tournaments, and the second straight game in which they refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts.
There was a slight change in how Indian handled the issues this time, though. It was the same at the toss as Suryakumar Yadav ignored Salman Ali Agha before shaking hands with broadcaster Ravi Shastri and match referee Andy Pycroft. However, after Tilak Varma hit the match-winning four on the penultimate ball of the 19th over in the 172-run chase, Team India players were seen coming down to the field from the dressing room.
Gambhir’s remarks go viral as Salman makes U-turn
This was different from the Group A match against Pakistan, where Indian players were quick to avoid shaking hands with Pakistani players and went straight into the dressing room, isolating themselves from the crowd.
On Sunday, they looked more comfortable in their stance as coach Gambhir asked his players to at least shake hands with the umpires, while the no-handshake policy with Pakistan stayed in place. In a viral video, Gambhir can be heard asking his players, “Arrey umpires se toh mil le (at least greet the officials).”
Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Salman Agha also made a U-turn as he appeared for the post-match presentation ceremony this time after boycotting it in the group game. Pakistan coach Mike Hesson had revealed that Salman was furious with Indian players refusing handshakes.
However, this time, he was there to give his thoughts despite another handshake boycott from Indian players. Explaining the defeat, Salman pointed out that India’s powerplay dominance, during which they scored 69 without losing any wickets, is where they won the match.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“We are yet to play a perfect game, but we are getting there. A great game but in the powerplay they took the game away from us,” Salman said. “Looking back with the position we were in after 10 overs, we could have got 10-15 more. 170-180 is a good total but in the powerplay they batted well, that was the difference.”
India and Pakistan can meet once more in the Asia Cup 2025 final if both teams finish at the top of the Super 4 points table.