India great and 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has urged both the India and Pakistan teams to focus on cricket and not make the 'handshake row' bigger than what it has already become in the ongoing Asia Cup. Kapil Dev called it a personal choice and mentioned that it was a petty issue and that Pakistan should focus on their performance rather than this kind of stuff.
“These are all small things. One should focus on playing cricket. If someone does not want to shake hands, there is no need to make a big issue out of it for both sides. It is not right to give wrong statements, but some cricketers give statements that become controversial. Pakistan did not play good cricket; they need to work on it. It is one’s personal choice whether they want to shake hands or hug,” Kapil told ANI.
For the uninitiated, Indian players decided against shaking hands with their Pakistan counterparts after their Asia Cup clash was done with. Pakistan players and the head coach waited for the Indian support staff and the rest of the players to come out. However, after the congratulatory gestures were done with the two unbeaten batters, Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube, the Indian dressing room shut the shop, leaving the Pakistani camp amused.
Later, Pakistan skipper Salman Agha refused to attend the post-match presentation and the team accused match referee Andy Pycroft of bias for not allowing the two captains to shake hands even at the toss. Pakistan then threatened a pullout and even until the last minute, the negotiations and the discussions with the ICC went on, with PCB adamant on their demand (removal of Pycroft from their matches), while the council not bending to the threat.
Eventually, as per a PCB statement, Pycroft apologised to the Pakistan team for the miscommunication and the match went ahead against the UAE on Wednesday, albeit after a delay of an hour. Pakistan are set to take on India once again on Sunday, September 21 in the Super Fours.
