Suryakumar Yadav’s Pakistan Handshake Boycott To Continue As India Get ICC Relief | Cricket News

India hammered Pakistan by seven wickets in Dubai. (Picture Credit: AP)

India will reportedly avoid facing any sanctions from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) for the handshake controversy against Pakistan in the 2025 Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday. According to a report in India Today, Men in Blue skipper Suryakumar Yadav is set to continue his handshake boycott with Pakistan if the two teams come against each other again in the tournament.

India beat Pakistan by seven wickets. Soon after the match, Suryakumar, who hit the winning six, and Shivam Dube walked straight to the dressing room. They avoided the post-match customary handshake, even as the Pakistani team hung around for a while. In retort, Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha refused to show up for the post-match presentation ceremony, also a custom but not a rule.

The incident has become the talk of the sport for the past many hours. Pakistan has lodged official complaints with the ICC over the incident and the match referee, Andy Pycroft’s conduct, with the former Zimbabwe international reportedly mentioning at the toss that there would be no handshakes.

The underlying feeling between the teams was one of disconnect, rooted in the cross-border tensions since the Pahalgam terror attack. Suryakumar defended his call not to shake hands by citing the attack, too, saying that his team was aligned with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Indian government.

“Few things in life are ahead of the sportsman spirit,” he said after the match. “We stand with all the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and we stand with their families. As I said, we dedicate this win to our brave armed forces who took part in Operation Sindoor. Our government and BCCI, we were aligned together. The rest, we came here, we took a call. I feel we came here just to play the game. I think we gave them a proper reply.”

India have qualified for the Super Four stage after Oman’s defeat to the UAE. If Pakistan can beat the UAE on Wednesday, they’ll reach the next round too and face India again in one of the three matches.