Agha Criticizes India’s Unyielding Stance for Projecting Negative Image

DUBAI: Pakistan’s team captain, Salman Ali Agha, has voiced strong reservations regarding India’s conduct during the recent ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025, asserting that it reflects poorly on the integrity of the sport.

This year’s continental tournament has been marred by controversy, with instances of Indian players declining to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts. Furthermore, they reportedly declined to accept the trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President Mohsin Naqvi, who also serves as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

The Indian team’s inflexibility reportedly led to an hour-long delay in the post-match presentation, eliciting criticism from various figures within the cricketing world, including Ravi Shastri.

The closing ceremony of the eight-team tournament eventually commenced following a significant delay. During the ceremony, India’s Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Dube, and Tilak Varma received individual accolades for their performances. Pakistan’s captain, Salman Ali Agha, accepted the prize money for his team’s second-place finish.

Subsequently, Kuldeep Yadav was again invited to receive recognition as the Asia Cup 2025’s highest wicket-taker, while left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma was honored as Player of the Tournament for amassing 314 runs across seven innings, averaging 44.85.

The closing ceremony concluded without the winning team receiving the trophy, as presenter Simon Doull officially announced its end.

“I have received information from the ACC indicating that the Indian cricket team will not be accepting their awards this evening. Consequently, this concludes the post-match presentation,” Doull stated.

Later, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha addressed the post-match press conference and voiced his concerns regarding India’s rigid approach throughout the tournament.

“The actions of India throughout this tournament are extremely disappointing,” Agha told reporters.

“Their refusal to shake hands is a sign of disrespect towards the sport itself, not just us. Admirable teams do not behave in this way. We decided to pose with the trophy independently to fulfill our obligations. We stood and accepted our medals. I hesitate to use strong language, but their behavior has been highly disrespectful.”

Agha clarified that he harbors no personal animosity towards Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and believes Yadav would have engaged in a handshake if the decision were his own.

“He did shake hands with me privately at the beginning of the tournament,” Agha noted. “Both during the pre-tournament press conference and at the referee’s meeting. However, in the public eye, they avoid shaking our hands. I believe he is acting under instruction, but personally, he would have shaken hands.”

The Pakistan skipper emphasized the unprecedented nature of teams declining to shake hands, deeming it detrimental to the spirit of cricket.

“This is an unprecedented situation in my experience,” he stated. “The events of this tournament have been unfortunate, and I hope this trend ceases as it reflects poorly on cricket. Today’s incidents were a direct result of earlier actions. Naturally, the ACC president should present the trophy to the winners; refusing to accept it from him is illogical.”

Similar to the prior two encounters between India and Pakistan, neither side exchanged handshakes before or after the final. Players remained in separate groups while awaiting the ceremony’s commencement.

“Beyond being Pakistan’s captain, I am also a cricket enthusiast,” Agha remarked. “If children in both India and Pakistan are watching, we are setting a poor example. We are seen as role models, and such behavior is not inspiring. These incidents should not have occurred, but the responsible parties [India] should be questioned rather than myself.”

Before concluding the press conference, Agha discussed the team’s resolution to support those impacted by recent incidents.

“As a team, we will be donating our Asia Cup final match fees to the families of civilians and children affected in the recent events,” Salman Agha announced as he concluded the press conference.