Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar seen in a file picture. — AFP
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has criticised the defending champions over the current “no-handshake” controversy involving Pakistan through the ACC Males’s Asia Cup, terming the gesture pointless and towards the true spirit of the sport.
The 2 Asian giants will face off within the T20 World Cup 2026 conflict right here on Sunday on the R Premadasa Stadium, with followers eagerly ready to see whether or not the 2 captains shake fingers.
Taking to the social media platform X, the previous cricketer-turned-commentator expressed concern over what he termed an unbecoming pattern that contradicts cricket’s long-standing traditions of sportsmanship.
“This ‘no shaking hands’ is such a silly thing that India has started. It’s unbecoming of a nation like ours. Either play properly within the spirit of the game or don’t play at all,” he wrote.
The absence of the customary post-match handshake has continued in current encounters between the arch-rivals.
Gamers from either side have averted conventional interactions since their group-stage conflict on the ACC Males’s T20 Asia Cup in Dubai final 12 months.
The problem first drew widespread consideration throughout that fixture when Suryakumar Yadav didn’t greet Agha Salman on the toss.
After India sealed victory, Suryakumar and teammate Shivam Dube walked again to the pavilion instantly after scoring the profitable runs, additional fuelling debate.
India and Pakistan confronted one another twice extra within the event — within the Tremendous 4 stage and the ultimate — however handshakes had been once more notably absent on each events.
Furthermore, after defeating Pakistan within the remaining, the Males in Blue shunned receiving the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, who serves as Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board and President of the Asian Cricket Council.
The apply has not been restricted to senior males’s cricket.
Related scenes had been witnessed throughout their assembly on the ICC Ladies’s Cricket World Cup, in addition to in age-group and rising competitions, together with the ACC Males’s Asia Cup Rising Stars Championship and the ACC Below-19 Asia Cup.
Within the just lately concluded ICC Below-19 Males’s Cricket World Cup 2026, India captain Ayush Mhatre and Pakistan skipper Farhan Yousaf additionally averted shaking fingers following their match, highlighting how the controversy has prolonged throughout totally different ranges of worldwide cricket.
The apply remained the identical through the just lately concluded match between Pakistan A and India A within the ACC Asia Cup Rising Stars Ladies’s 2026 on Sunday.
