Pakistan coach Mike Hesson said that they were disappointed that India players did not shake hands with the Men in Green players, adding that it was the reason that Pakistan captain Salman Agha skipped the post-match presentation.
“We wanted to shake hands but disappointed that the opposition didn’t do that. Also disappointed with the way we played. Pakistan captain Salman not coming for post-match presentation was cause and effect after what happened,” Hesson said.
Even at the toss, India captain Suryakumar Yadav hadn’t engaged in the customary handshake with his Pakistan counterpart. Both the captains submitted their respective team sheets to the match referee Andy Pycroft from Zimbabwe, spoke with the TV commentator Ravi Shastri, who was conducting the toss, and headed back in their respective directions.
“We took a call as we came here to only play. We gave a proper reply,” Suryakumar said after the match on the issue of not shaking hands.
“We are aligned with BCCI and government. (A) few things are ahead of sportsman spirit. We stand with all victims of Pahalgam terror attack and dedicate it to armed forces who took part in Operation Sindoor,” he added.
Even head coach Gautam Gambhir echoed his captain’s words in an interaction with Sony Sports Network.
It was the first time that arch-rivals India and Pakistan faced off in a cricket match since the Pahalgam terror attacks earlier this year in April, which led to India launching retaliatory military action across the border in early May.
Story continues below this ad
Last month, India announced a new sports policy under which its teams and athletes will not be allowed to engage in bilateral events with Pakistan, but can face them in multilateral international tournaments.
It also prohibited Indian athletes from travelling to Pakistan and refused to host teams and individual players from the neighbouring country.
