The Asia Cup 2025 final between India and Pakistan is only a day away, but before the action begins, Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha has reopened the debate over the handshake controversy.
He made it clear that he had never witnessed such a situation in his career and believed skipping handshakes does not send the right message for the spirit of the game.
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Salman Ali Agha criticizes India over handshake controversy before Asia Cup 2025 final
Speaking ahead of the title clash on 28th Sept., Agha recalled his journey since youth cricket and stressed that handshakes at the end of matches have always been part of the game.
He said he grew up hearing about the traditions of cricket from his father, who never told him of a time when two teams avoided shaking hands.
“As far as handshakes are concerned, I’ve been playing professional cricket since 2007 at the under-16 level. I’ve never seen two teams not shaking hands during the match. Even my father is a big cricket fan, I’ve heard stories about the game from him.”
“He never told me that anything like that happened in the past, that two teams playing cricket didn’t shake hands. I’ve always heard that no such thing has ever happened on a cricket field,” said Agha in the pre-match press conference.
According to Agha, even when relations between India and Pakistan were worse in the past, players still exchanged handshakes at the end of games.
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For him, the lack of it this time is troubling and not good for cricket’s image. He described the act as a break from sportsmanship and something that could set the wrong example for young fans.
"India and Pakistan have played earlier as well when the relations between the two countries were even worse. Even then, there used to be handshakes. According to me, no handshakes are not good for cricket," he added.
How the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 handshake row started
The row started during the group-stage match when Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav did not shake hands with Salman Ali Agha at the toss and after the game.
The same thing was repeated in the Super Four clash, where Indian players shook hands only with umpires before leaving the field.
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This came at a time when emotions were already running high after the Pahalgam terror attack earlier in the year.
Surya later dedicated India’s win to the victims’ families and to the armed forces. Pakistan, on their part, lodged a protest with the ICC, claiming that the match referee had suggested no handshakes should take place.
India and Pakistan will now face each other for the third time in this tournament on September 28 in Dubai. India have won both previous games, while Pakistan will aim to turn the tables and lift their third Asia Cup title.
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