Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that the Indian cricket team should have shaken hands with the Pakistani players during the Asia Cup, emphasising the importance of sportsmanship despite tensions between the countries. Tharoor said that while the emotions against Pakistan are understandable, the spirit of the game should be kept separate from politics and military conflicts.
Here's what Shashi Tharoor said
"I personally feel that once the decision had been made to play, if we feel so strongly about Pakistan, we should not have played... But if we are going to play them, we should play in the spirit of a game, and we should have shaken their hands... We have done this before in 1999, when the Kargil War was going on. On the very day the soldiers were dying for our country, we were playing the World Cup in England against Pakistan. We were shaking their hands even then because the spirit of the game is a different spirit from what goes on between countries, between Armies and so on. That is my view," Tharoor said.
The senior Congress leader further remarked that the reactions from both sides showed a lack of sportsmanship. "If the Pakistani team, having been insulted the first time, decided to insult us back the second time, it shows that the spirit of the game is lacking on both sides," he added.
Team India refused handshake
Indian players, including Captain Suryakumar Yadav, refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts during the Asia Cup 2025. Both captains, Suryakumar Yadav and Pakistan's Salman Ali Agha, skipped the traditional pre-match handshake, and after the victory, Yadav and Shivam Dube quickly retreated to the dressing room, leaving Pakistan's players waiting.
After the previous encounter, Yadav explained that the team management decided not to shake hands with the Pakistan cricketers to stand in solidarity with the families of the Pahalgam attack, where 26 people lost their lives. The act was repeated before the Super Four clash as well.
Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially lodged a complaint against Pakistan cricketers Sahibzada Farhan and Haris Rauf for their inappropriate actions during the high-voltage Asia Cup's Super Four encounter on September 21.
According to BCCI sources, a complaint has been filed with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and match referee Andy Pycroft. The Indian team has demanded strict action against both players for conduct that they believe crossed the line of acceptable on-field behaviour.
During Pakistan's innings, opener Sahibzada Farhan celebrated his half-century in controversial fashion by holding his bat like a gun, a move that has been widely criticised as being insensitive and provocative.
Interestingly, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had earlier lodged two complaints with the ICC against Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav.PCB was against Suryakumar Yadav's comment after the game on September 14 on the Pahalgam incident, as, according to them, he made it political.
India humiliated Pakistan in the two matches they played against each other, as they advanced to the finals of the Asia Cup.
