Sunday Nov 02, 2025
Sunday Nov 02, 2025
Thursday, 18 September 2025 02:35 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Indian cricket team’s decision not to shake hands with members of the Pakistan cricket team at the conclusion of the Group A match of the Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium drew more attention than the match results. India secured a convincing victory but the decision to snub the Pakistan players who had lined up for the traditional post-match handshake has left a bad taste in the mouth. In cricketing language one could say, “That’s not cricket.”
India and Pakistan have been cricketing rivals for decades, but they’ve mostly managed to keep politics out of cricket and cricket out of politics even though from time to time tension between the two countries has spilled onto the sports arenas.
The heightened tensions between the two countries at present is a result of the terrorist attack at Pahalgam in April, when gunmen opened fire on a group of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India accused Pakistan of being behind the attacks and since then relations between the two countries are at one of its lowest points. There were calls in India not to play Pakistan in the Asia cup, but the match was played but the handshake was denied.
Ideally sports should be above politics and sports should be undertaken in the spirit of the games being played with other rivalries put aside. Going by the discussions on social media, it’s clear there are those who support the Indian players’ decision not to shake hands with the Pakistan team members while others are critical of the move saying that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is playing politics by using the players.
The Indian and Pakistan teams stopped travelling to each other’s countries for games many years ago. India last travelled to Pakistan in 2008 and the latter to India in 2012. There are the obvious security concerns, but the atmosphere generally hasn’t been healthy and not great for the players and audiences.
Supporting cross-border terrorism is not an exclusive charge that can be made against Pakistan. Sri Lankans know more about it well having suffered for closer to 30 years due to terrorism. But Sri Lankan players maintained the spirit of the game, tough ups and downs, leaving the politics to politicians and being sporty.
Citizens of every country take pride in their flag, their national anthem, and their armed forces. When the national anthems are played prior to a match, whichever countries that may be, there is a decorum maintained as a mark of respect. Once players get to the ground, they should leave the politics behind as well as their perceived sense of superiority because in the middle of a cricket ground all are equal and it eventually is a test of the skills in which one team prevails over the other.
If all teams were to bring political baggage into the middle of the cricket ground or for that matter into any sport, it’ll be impossible to play any game in the spirit of sportsmanship. Sporting rivalries are good, but they should end with the start and end with a game. Whether you lose or win, a handshake at the end of a game is a tradition. Snubbing fellow players because politicians on either side are at loggerheads only demeans the game, puts the players in a bad light and strains relations between the people of these countries.
