Pakistan's Salman Ali Agha launches protest in Dubai after India refuse to shake hands

The high-profile India vs Pakistan match in the Asia Cup 2025 on September 14 ended in controversy, as there was no customary handshake between captains Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Ali Agha, and its effect continued till the post-match presentation.

Suryakumar Yadav had already made up his mind not to oblige the handshake, but the Indian captain left it to his teammates whether to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts in the Asia Cup 2025 clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.

Handshake refusal sparks controversy as India’s protest against Pakistan escalates

As the Indian cricket team was aware of the outrage back home over facing Pakistan, Suryakumar refused to shake hands with Salman Ali Agha at the toss. It was just the beginning of a fresh controversy in the tournament, highlighting how the situation is worse between the two nations.

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After India thrashed Pakistan by seven wickets in the Asia Cup 2025 clash on Sunday, Suryakumar and his entire Indian team refused to shake hands with the Pakistani players to show their ‘symbolic protest,’ and they even went straight to the dressing room.

India’s handshake boycott after their Asia Cup 2025 clash with Pakistan took a dramatic turn when Suryakumar Yadav openly said that some things are more important than sportsmanship, referring to the Pahalgam attack. He stated, “I feel a few things in life are ahead of sportsmanship.”

Read Also: Shoaib Akhtar starts crying after India-Pakistan Handshake controversy

India’s closed door angers Pakistan, as captain Salman Ali Agha avoids Post-Match Presentation

Despite this, the Pakistan team made an effort to approach India’s dressing room to shake hands and maintain sporting spirit. However, the Indian support staff reportedly shut the door before the handshake could take place, as they were not interested in any friendly gestures.

India’s behavior left the Pakistan team deeply disappointed and hurt. After which, Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha chose to skip the post-match presentation ceremony.

Kuldeep Yadav, who was the Man of the Match, and victorious skipper Suryakumar came to share their thoughts with Sanjay Manjrekar in the post-match ceremony, but Salman didn’t show up.

Salman Ali Agha’s move to skip the post-match presentation was to send a strong message about how his team felt about India’s behavior after the Asia Cup 2025 clash in Dubai.

Mike Hesson reacts to India's handshake refusal, explains Salman Ali Agha's move

Later, Pakistan’s head coach Mike Hesson revealed that Salman was left disappointed by India's act, and that’s why he didn’t attend the post-match presentation.

Hesson was quoted as saying by PTI, “I think what happened was just a flow-on effect. We were ready to shake hands. We are obviously disappointed that our opposition didn't do that. We sort of went over there to shake hands, but they had already gone to the changing room.

That was a disappointing way for the match to finish. We were willing to shake hands, we were keen to shake hands at the end of the match, but that didn't happen, and that was pretty much the end of it.”

Notably, India faced backlash for playing against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 after the Pahalgam terror attack and retaliatory strikes. Despite rising tensions, the BCCI and Indian government approved the match in Dubai, leaving the team with no choice but to compete.

Read Also: Pakistan officially files complaint against team India after No Handshake, ICC sanctions incoming?