The argument over the handshake between the Indian and Pakistani cricket teams started up again on Sunday after India won the Asia Cup Super Four match in Dubai by six wickets. This time, the spotlight was on India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, who gave his players an unexpected order.
After the game, Gambhir told his players to only meet the umpires and not the other side, which was the Pakistani team. This order came after India’s captain, Suryakumar Yadav, skipped shaking hands with Pakistan’s skipper, Salman Ali Agha, after the toss and went straight to presenter Ravi Shastri before meeting the match referee, Andy Pycroft.
No Handshakes After the Game
The lack of handshakes after the game made things even more tense. Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya, who led India to victory, went directly from the field to the dressing room, foregoing the usual gesture with the Pakistani players.
In a shocking change of events, Gambhir was later seen telling the Indian players to get back to the pitch. After that, they walked over to the Pakistani squad but simply shook hands with the match officials before going back to their dressing room. The Pakistani players were clearly confused.
Gambhir later posted a picture of the Indian squad on Instagram with the term “Fearless” as the caption. Abhishek Sharma (74) and Shubman Gill (47) showed this feeling by putting together a key 105-run opening stand that took the weight off the squad and set the tone for the chase.
India has won more games over Pakistan, and now they will play Bangladesh. Pakistan will play Sri Lanka. If India wins its next game, it will almost certainly make it to the final on September 28.