Agha slams India for 'disrespecting cricket' during Asia Cup 2025

DUBAI: Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha voiced strong disapproval of India’s stance during the recently concluded ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025, stating that they are bringing disrepute to the sport.

This year’s continental tournament has been marred by controversies, with the Indian players denying handshakes with their Pakistani counterparts and eventually refusing to receive the prestigious trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

The Indian team’s stubbornness caused an hour-long delay in the commencement of the post-match presentation, drawing criticism from the cricket fraternity, including Ravi Shastri.

The closing ceremony of the eight-team tournament eventually started after a long delay, with India’s Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Dube and Tilak Varma receiving individual awards for their respective performances in the summit clash, while Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha collected the prize money cheque for finishing as the runners-up.

Later, Kuldeep was invited again to collect the award for finishing as the highest wicket-taker of the Asia Cup 2025, followed by left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma, who was adjudged the Player of the Tournament for scoring 314 runs in seven innings at an average of 44.85.

The closing ceremony concluded without the winning team receiving the trophy, as presenter Simon Doull confirmed its conclusion.

"I have been informed by the ACC that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight. So that does conclude the post-match presentation," informed Doull.

Later, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha addressed the post-match press conference and expressed his disappointment with India’s rigid approach throughout the tournament.

“What India have done this tournament is very disappointing,” Agha told reporters.

“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.”

Agha said he had no personal issue with Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and believed Yadav would have shaken hands if it had been his decision.

“He shook hands with me in private at the start of the tournament,” Agha said. “Both at the pre-tournament press conference and when we met in the referee’s meeting. But when they’re out in the world 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 Pakistan skipper said there was no precedent for teams refusing to shake hands, calling it damaging to the spirit of the game.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen this happen,” he said. “Whatever happened in this tournament was very bad, and I hope it stops at some stage because it’s bad for cricket. Everything that happened today was a consequence of all that happened before. Of course the ACC president will give the trophy to the winners. If you won’t take the trophy from him, how will you get it?”

As in the previous two India-Pakistan matches, neither side exchanged handshakes before or after the final. Players stayed in separate huddles while waiting for the ceremony to begin.

“I’m not just a Pakistan captain, I’m a cricket fan,” Agha said. “If a kid’s 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.”

Before ending the press conference, Agha spoke about the team’s decision to support victims of the recent Indian attacks.

“As a team, we are donating our Asia Cup final match fees to the families of civilians and children affected in the Indian attacks on Pakistan,” Salman Agha said in his closing remarks before wrapping up the press conference.