Asia Cup 2025: "We gave a proper reply..."- Suryakumar Yadav reveals why he didn't shake hands with the Pakistan players after winning the match

Suryakumar Yadav played a crucial innings of 47* in India’s win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025.

India captain Suryakumar Yadav opened up on why he chose not to shake hands with the Pakistan players after guiding his side to a commanding seven-wicket victory in their Asia Cup 2025 group A clash in Dubai.

Put into bat first after skipper Salman Agha’s surprise decision at the toss, Pakistan endured a shaky start. Saim Ayub fell for a duck, and Mohammad Haris followed soon after for just three. Fakhar Zaman’s 17 offered brief resistance, while Sahibzada Farhan stood firm with a gritty 40 off 44 balls, laced with three sixes and a four.

The innings finally found some late spark through Shaheen Afridi, who bludgeoned an unbeaten 33 from 16 deliveries, smashing four massive sixes to lift Pakistan to 127/9 in their allotted 20 overs. For India, Kuldeep Yadav was the standout with figures of 3/18, ably supported by Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah with two apiece.

In reply, India’s chase got off to a shaky start as Shubman Gill departed for 10. But Abhishek Sharma turned the tide with a blazing 31 off just 13 balls, peppered with four boundaries and two sixes. From there, captain Suryakumar Yadav took charge, crafting an unbeaten 47 with five fours and a six. Tilak Varma played his part with a steady 31 off 31, as India comfortably overhauled the target in 15.5 overs to register a seven-wicket win.

For Pakistan, Saim Ayub’s 3/35 was the only silver lining with the ball. Kuldeep Yadav, with his decisive three-wicket burst, was deservedly named Player of the Match.

Suryakumar Yadav reveals reason behind not shaking hands with Salman Ali Agha and co.

Something that everyone noticed was that as soon as Suryakumar Yadav hit the winning six, he and Shivam Dube straightaway walked off towards the Indian dressing room and didn’t shake hands with the opposite Pakistani team players. Though it is not an ICC rule, but rather a courtesy gesture, the Indian captain not shaking hands with his Pakistani counterpart led to questions all around.

Suryakumar Yadav attended the post-match press conference, and the first question he asked was about him not shaking hands with Pakistani players. He replied that it was a call taken by the BCCI and Indian players, who are aligned with their government.

“See, our government and the BCCI were aligned together. The rest, we came and took a call, and I think we came here just to play the game, and we gave a proper reply,” Suryakumar Yadav said in the post-match press conference.

Furthermore, a journalist questioned Suryakumar Yadav, mentioning solidarity with the families of the Pahalgam terror attack victims and also dedicated the win to the Indian armed forces. The journalist wondered if his gesture was against the sportsman’s spirit.

Surya replied: “Sir, I think a few things in life are ahead of sportsman spirit also. And I have already answered it and said it at the presentation as well that we actually stand with all the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, and we stand with their families also, expressing our solidarity. We also dedicated this win to our brave armed forces who took part in Operation Sindoor and continue to inspire us all. We will inspire them as well whenever given an opportunity.”

India will next play Oman on September 19 in Abu Dhabi.  

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