'He shook hands with me in private': Salman Ali Agha fuels controversy after India’s trophy snub

The Asia Cup ended in controversy as Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha launched a scathing attack on India, accusing the team of disrespecting not just Pakistan but the game itself. His remarks came after India’s refusal to collect the winners’ trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi, who also heads the Pakistan Cricket Board and serves as Interior Minister of Pakistan.

Handshake row resurfaces

Agha disclosed that Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav shook hands with him away from the cameras at the beginning of the tournament, but avoided doing so in public.

“He shook hands with me in private at the start of the tournament,” Agha told reporters after the final. “Both at the pre-tournament press conference and when we met in the referee's meeting. But when they're out in front of the cameras, they don't shake our hands. I'm sure he's following the instructions he's been given, but if it was up to him, he'd shake hands with me.”

The row over handshakes had been simmering since the opening clash, when India declined to engage in the customary gesture, a practice that continued in subsequent encounters.

Criticism of India’s conduct

Agha strongly criticised India’s refusal to engage on the field and their decision not to receive the trophy from Naqvi.

“What India has done in this tournament is very disappointing,” he said. “They're not disrespecting us by not shaking hands, they're disrespecting cricket. Good teams don't do what they did today. We went to pose with the trophy on our own because we wanted to fulfil our obligations. We stood there and took our medals. I don't want to use harsh words, but they've been very disrespectful. This is the first time I've ever seen this happen.”

The post-match presentation was marred by a delay of nearly 100 minutes before being cut short. Several Indian players collected individual awards, but the team walked away without the trophy after declining to accept it from the ACC chief.

The Pakistan captain also lamented the example being set for young fans watching in both countries.

“Whatever happened in this tournament was very bad, and I hope it stops at some stage because it's bad for cricket,” he said. “I'm not just a Pakistan captain, I'm a cricket fan. If a kid is watching in India or Pakistan, we're not sending them a good message. People think of us as role models, but if we're behaving like this, we're not inspiring them. What happened shouldn't have happened, but you should ask the people (India) responsible for this rather than me.”

Acknowledging India’s dominance

Despite his anger, Agha conceded Pakistan’s poor run against their rivals. “We are not playing good cricket against them, and if you look at it overall, we are still behind them. Every team has an era, maybe this is theirs. We used to beat them in the '90s; now they are beating us, and you will see very soon we will start beating them,” he said.

Gesture of solidarity

Concluding his remarks, Agha announced that the Pakistan team would donate their match fees to families affected during Operation Sindoor. “As a team, we are donating our match fees to our civilians who were affected during the ‘Indian attack,’” he said.

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