On Sunday, September 14, the high-octane clash between and Pakistan ended in the former’s favour. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side, who were coming into the match after a dominant nine-wicket win against UAE in their opening Asia Cup 2025
match, beat their arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday by seven wickets in Dubai to continue their domination, not only in the tournament but also over their near neighbours.Apart from the defeat, the Men in Green were also denied a customary handshake as part of the Indian team’s protest over the Pahalgam terror attacks. While Suryakumar Yadav snubbed a handshake at toss, the team continued the row, snubbing a handshake post-match which led to several eyebrows.
Just a flow-on effect: Mikes Hesson on Salman Ali Agha’s post-match presentation snub
As a result, the Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha was seen
snubbing the post-match presentation ceremony in Dubai. However, a clarity on the same did not come until the Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson revealed the details at the post-match press conference. When inquired of middle-order batter’s gesture, he replied, “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.”
Furthermore, Hesson also expressed disappointment of the Indian team snubbing handshakes. “Well, look — we were obviously ready to shake hands at the end of the game. We were disappointed that our opponents didn’t do the same. We went over to shake hands, but they had already headed into the changing rooms,” Hesson said.
While Team India’s gesture came as a silent boycott of the match following the Pahalgam terror attacks which left 26 innocent dead. In return, India launched the Operation Sindoor - a secret mission to destroy the terror igniting groups and launchpads in Pakistan.
