The match number six of the Men’s Asia Cup 2025, which was played on September 14 between India and Pakistan, was a lot more than just a game of cricket. However, India continued their domination over Pakistan, registering a seven-wicket win in Dubai, the performances of the players were simply overshadowed by the handshake row and other instances.
However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have lodged an official complaint over India’s “unsporting” behaviour along with voicing for the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft, several former cricketers have now spoken of politics being involved in sports. While former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar urged not to involve politics in cricket, legend and former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has something
else to add on.
I don't think it made much difference anyway: Sunil Gavaskar on Salman Agha’s post-match presentation snub
In an interaction with India Today, Sunil Gavaskar was of the opinion that sports and politics have never been separate, especially when it comes to India and Pakistan. “Sports and politics have never been separate - you only need to look back over the years to see that. I wouldn't criticise someone for taking that stance, and I wouldn't want to get into a debate about it. When you start discussing political references, you get into policies and complexities that are frankly beyond my pay grade,” Gavaskar said.
The 76-year-old further went on to troll the Pakistan captain, who snubbed the post-match presentation. Gavaskar said that fans wanted to hear the winning captain anyway rather than excuses from the losing one. “I don't think it made much difference anyway - people mainly wanted to hear what the winning captain had to say, not excuses from the other side,” he added.
Not much was known of Salman Ali Agha’s snub from the post match presentation until when head coach Mike Hesson at the press conference revealed, “I think what happened was just a flow-on effect. We were keen to engage, to shake hands at the end of the match, but it didn’t happen — and that was pretty much the end of it.”
