Pakistan batting great attacks India captain Suryakumar Yadav over Asia Cup handshake row with 'pig' remark

Former Pakistan batter Mohammad Yousuf drew widespread condemnation for his derogatory comment aimed at India skipper Suryakumar Yadav following the Men in Blue's decision to not shake the hands of their opponents during their Asia Cup Group A match against Pakistan on Sunday.

India, who are strong favourites to win the Asia Cup for the second time in the T20 format and for the ninth time overall, had outperformed arch-rivals Pakistan in all departments in Dubai to collect their second consecutive victory.

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India’s clinical performance, however, did not make headlines after the game as much as their stand against Pakistan did, with India captain Suryakumar ignoring his Pakistani counterpart Salman Agha during toss and the Men in Blue remaining confined to their dressing room after their victory, keeping the Pakistanis waiting outside.

Also Read | Handshake Row: India didn’t do anything out of ordinary, athletes have often registered protests like this

Surya also dedicated India’s seven-wicket victory to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack in April as well as to the Indian armed forces, which was widely praised in India but drew condemnation from the Pakistani cricket community.

Yousuf attacks Suryakumar on air with ‘Suarkumar’ jibe

Responding to Surya’s post-match comments as well as India’s defiant gesture, Pakistani batting great Yousuf took a jibe at the Indian captain by mis-pronouncing his name as ‘Suarkumar’ – effectively calling him a pig – during a panel discussion on a Pakistani news channel. Yousuf later made it clear that he was deliberately mispronouncing his name by repeatedly calling him “Suarkumar” even as the anchor tried to correct him.

As if that’s not all, he later accused India of “torturing” Pakistan through match referee Andy Pycroft, against whom the PCB had lodged an official complaint asking for his removal from the remainder of the tournament.

“India are unable to get out of their filmy world. India should be ashamed of the way they are trying to win—using umpires, torturing (Pakistan) through the match referee. It is a high note,” Yousuf said on SAMAA TV.

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Yousuf’s former Pakistan teammate Shahid Afridi, who is also part of the news channel’s coverage of the ongoing tournament as an expert, had also made controversial remarks in response to the handshake row.

Also Read | How Pakistan can be knocked out of Asia Cup due to protest after handshake row

The former Pakistan captain and all-rounder not only accused the Indians of lacking sportsman spirit, he also felt that they were acting on “orders from up above”.

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