Asia Cup: Even at worst times, players shook hands, says Pak skipper ahead of summit clash

Dubai, Sep 27 (IANS) As India and Pakistan get ready for their third clash in the Men's T20 Asia Cup in Sunday's final, the handshake controversy between the two teams reared its head again.

While the Indians have refrained to talk about their policy of no handshake with Pakistan players over their country's support to the perpetuators of the Pahalgam terror attack since skipper Suryakumar Yadav dedicated India's first victory over Pakistan in the Asia Cup in the league phase the country's armed forces for their role in Operation Sindoor, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha readily answered questions on this issue on Saturday.

Salman Agha said he has never seen any team refusing to shake hands with the opponent players in his career, and said players from the two countries shook hands even when the relations were worse than now.

"I started playing U16 cricket in 2007. I never saw any teams not shaking hands. Even when Indo-Pak relations were worse, we still shook hands," Agha said in the pre-match press conference in Dubai, as it became clear that the Indians would continue to stick to their policy in the final too.

Salman was also asked about India's dominance over Pakistan in recent matches, which includes two wins in the Asia Cup, but said his players were not facing any extra pressure taking on them for the third time.

India are unbeaten in the Men's T20 Asia Cup 2025, winning all six matches so far, but Agha said both teams will face the same amount of pressure in the final. "The final brings the same pressure on both teams. We don't care what the Indian media says. For us, it's only about doing the basics right," he said.

The 31-year-old Salman Agha admitted that his players had made many mistakes in the two previous matches but hoped that they would not repeat them in the final.

The Pakistan skipper, who has failed to register any big scores in the Asia Cup so far, admitted he has not been up to the mark when it comes to his strike rate. The Pakistan skipper has only aggregated 64 runs in six innings at an average of 12.8 and a strike rate of 78.05.

"Yes, I haven't performed well, and my strike rate hasn't been up to the mark. It's not necessary to bat at a 150 strike-rate but to play as per the demand of the situation," he said.

--IANS

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