The Indian Cricket team did not boycott the Pakistan game, but did the next best thing of thrashing their opponents on the field, and refused to shake hands post-match with the Pakistan Team. This act turned out to be a huge controversy, much to the delight of the Indian fans.
Introduction
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ’s decision to allow the Indian team to participate in the Asia Cup and play Pakistan in the tournament sparked outrage among many fans and nationalists back home. A significant portion of Indian cricket fans chose to boycott the India-Pakistan clash, who believe there should be no sporting relations with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.
After the government and BCCI nod, the Indian cricket team had no choice but to play Pakistan in the Asia Cup. In their first group game against Pakistan, the Indian cricket team led by Suryakumar Yadav, annihilated their opponent and secured a dominating seven-wicket victory, chasing down a small target of 128 in just 15.5 overs.
Why the outrage?
Following the Pahalgam terror attack, there was a growing appeal from the Indian fans for India to completely cut off sporting ties with Pakistan. The Pahalgam region was rocked by a shocking terror attack when 26 tourists were killed in an attack attributed to Pakistan-based terrorists.
As a mark of respect for the victims of terror, viewership for the game showed a steep decline. With many empty seats in the stadium for an India-Pakistan fixture, something that was unheard of, clearly indicated that Indian fans had boycotted the game in large numbers.
The Controversy of the Indian cricket team in the India Pakistan Game
Indian cricket team Skipper Suryakumar Yadav (SKY) not shaking hands with his Pakistani counterpart, Salman Ali Agha, after the coin toss created a lot of noise in social media. The controversy exploded when the Indian team deciding to not come out to share post-match handshakes and pleasantries with their opponents, instead remaining in their dressing room .
Indian captain in his post-match presentation speech, referred to the Pahalgam terror attack and took a moment to honour the contributions and sacrifices made by the Indian Armed Forces.
Later, talking in the post-match press meet, Suryakumar Yadav answered a question about why the Indian team refused to engage in traditional gestures of sportsmanship, such as handshakes.
“I feel a few things in life are ahead of sportsman spirit, We stand with all the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack. We stand with their families also and express our solidarity. As I said, we dedicate this win to our brave armed forces who took part in Operation Sindoor.”
Earlier, before the start of the tournament, Sky was criticised on social media for his hand shake with Salman Agha and Mohsin Naqvi in the pre-tournament all-captains’ press conference held in Dubai to unveil the Asia Cup 2025 Trophy.
After the Indian cricket team’s handshake refusal, the Pakistan captain also kept himself away from the post-match presentation, which clearly showed that the Pakistan camp was shaken up with the embarrassing loss and India’s actions after the match.
A visibly shaken up Pakistan board has filed an official complaint calling India’s action against the spirit of sports.
SuperSports View
While some feel Politics and sports should not mix, it is difficult to separate the two when it hurts nationalism.
We have seen in tennis when Ukrainian players refuse to shake hands with their Russian opponents, a similar call was taken by the Indian cricket team as their way of protest to the Pahalgam terror attack.
The Flawless spirited game played by the Indian cricket team on the field, annihilating their opponents and then not wanting to express any falsehood of gestures post-match would have brought smiles to all Indians as their action was good enough to ruffle feathers in Pakistan. This was Team India’s way of a ‘Silent Boycott’.
The game will be remembered for many things other than a simple game of bat and ball. The tone was set by the Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s refusal to shake hands, his bold remarks in the post-match speech, and in the press conference would have given Indian fans lot of reasons to celebrate Team India’s unique way of a ‘Silent Boycott’. Pakistan, shell shocked with the entire episode will take time to recover from this decisive double blow of a humiliating loss and Team India’s action.
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