Senior Indian Congress leader and Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor had sharp words for the Indian cricket team for repeatedly refusing to shake hands with Pakistani players during the ongoing Asia Cup, arguing that political tensions must not compromise the spirit of sportsmanship.
Tharoor’s comments came after the Indian team avoided the customary handshake with their Pakistani counterparts following both the group stage and Super Four matches.
Tharoor asserted that India’s decision to play Pakistan obligated the team to adhere to the norms of cricket, including the post-match handshake.
“I personally feel that once the decision had been made to play, if we feel so strongly about Pakistan, we should not have played,” Tharoor stated. “But if we are going to play them, because if we had not played, we would have forfeited the points… if we were going to play them, we should play in the spirit of the game and we too should have handshakes.”
He warned that the initial gesture by the Indian team set a poor precedent, which was regrettably mirrored by Pakistan.
“If the Pakistani team having been insulted the first time decided to insult us back the second time it just shows that this spirit of the game is lacking on both sides,” he said. “But certainly we need not have initiated, I think, a negative. Once we have decided to play them, we should play like normal.”
Tharoor recalled a critical moment in history when the rivalry remained separate from conflict, emphasizing that the current team should maintain that standard.
“We’ve done this before,” he said. “In 1999, when the Kargil war was going on, on the very day when soldiers were dying for our country, we were playing the World Cup in England and Manchester against Pakistan.”
He concluded, “What we were doing frankly was we were shaking their hands even then because the spirit of the game is a different spirit from what goes on between countries between armies and so on.”
Former Indian captain Azharuddin also questioned the team’s conduct in an interview.
“There was no harm in shaking hands,” Azharuddin said. “When you play a match, the game should adhere to morals and etiquette. I do not know what the problem was in this matter; I genuinely do not understand why they considered not shaking hands necessary.”
Azharuddin maintained that a team must commit fully if they agree to play. “If the team has consented to play the match, then they should play with complete spirit and respect. When you play in a state of protest, it is better not to play at all. Playing under protest makes no sense. If you play, you should play with the full spirit. Otherwise, there is no need to play.”
The controversy stems from the Asia Cup matches where the Indian captain did not shake hands with the Pakistani captain after the toss in the Super Four encounter.
Furthermore, the Indian players reportedly avoided the customary post-match handshake with the entire Pakistani squad in both the group stage and the Super Four matches.