White-ball head coach Mike Hesson explained Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha’s absence from the post-match presentation after their limp seven-wicket loss to India at the Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday. He subtly suggested that their arch-rival’s refusal to the customary post-match handshake may have played a part in it.
Before the first ball of the rivalry fixture was bowled, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Salman turned heads by not engaging in the traditional handshake after the toss. During the toss, neither skipper maintained eye contact nor tried to initiate a handshake and eschewed the gesture.
India’s stance was linked to the strained relations between the two nations in the wake of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, during which 26 tourists were killed on April 22 by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists.
After India gunned down the paltry 128-run target with Suryakumar uncorking a towering maximum into the stands, the Indian skipper returned straightaway to the dressing room with his partner Shivam Dube. During the post-match presentation, Salman Agha and his remarks about his team’s performance were nowhere to be seen, a move that raised questions.
Hesson broke the silence about Salman’s absence while expressing his disappointment about India refraining from engaging in the customary handshake when his side made attempts towards it. Hesson didn’t directly pin Salman’s absence due to the incident that took place after the match, but alluded to it obliquely.
“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,” Hesson said during the post-match press conference.
Responding to India’s stance on abstaining from shaking hands with the Pakistan team, Suryakumar had a simple message and said during the press conference, “I feel a few things in life are ahead of sportsman spirit.” (ANI)
