Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has voiced his opinion against the Indian team for snubbing the handshake following the Asia Cup 2025 game at the Dubai International Stadium on September 14, Sunday. Misbah called the gesture from their Indian counterparts 'unsporting and against the spirit of the game', claiming 'Cricket ka maqsad kuch aur hai'.
After snubbing the handshake during toss, Suryakumar Yadav, who finished off the game with a six, walked away along with Shivam Dube without the same. With Pakistani players helplessly waiting on the ground, Indian contingent was seen shutting the dressing room's door, refusing to entertain the opposition. Later in the presser, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav explained that, 'I feel few things in life are ahead of sportsmen’s spirit also.'
Speaking on PTV Sports about PCB's chairman Mohsin Naqvi's tweet of the need to show grace on the field, Misbah said:
"There are very strict regulations in the sport for these kinds of things (political gestures from players or teams). You see, if you bring any political statement or even a gesture to the cricket field, there are very heavy penalties, and you can even get a ban as a player. So I think it’s absolutely not allowed, and one word was very important in this tweet from Mohsin Naqvi: grace. Whoever is doing this is just losing grace."
"What are they basically trying to do?" - Misbah-ul-Haq
The 51-year-old opined that sports is played to entertain the crowd and that India made the purpose of playing it look like something else.
"Where India should have given an answer to something, you should have responded there. This is a cricket field. Why are you mixing those things? So this is a strange mindset that no one in the world can understand. What are they basically trying to do? It’s like, where should they vent their anger? This is not on! What is sports, basically? You go, you play, it’s a test of your skills. That’s it. A cricketer, or any player on the field, goes to entertain the crowd. Their purpose is completely different."
As for the state of Asia Cup, India have qualified for the Super 4 round of the tournament.
