Missing handshake needless distraction from India's mastery
Across three hours and change on Sunday, the Indian cricket team displayed the traits against Pakistan that have propelled them to the top of the world game in the T20I format: role clarity among their batters, gun pacers and a superb collection of ultra-consistent spinners. It is why, in a format where results and performances can be fickle, the Suryakumar Yadav-led side is on course to become the first team to defend the World Cup they won in 2024.
The one-sided dominance reflected poorly on the needless hyper-politicisation and the associated histrionics before the game. Not everything under the R Premadasa lights was praiseworthy. At the toss, skipper Yadav continued the recent status quo of not shaking hands with his opposite number, Salman Agha. He began this at the Asia Cup in Dubai; this is now the fourth time the senior men’s team has refused to subscribe to accepted sporting norms and etiquette. What the senior men started, others have followed. Earlier this month, Ayush Mhatre, captain of the U19 World Cup-winning team, did not engage with Pakistan’s U19 captain. There was no elaborate post-match mingling between members of either side. No one is sure whether this is an infection anyone would want to spread.
Do we even know why this step has been taken? The Board of Control for Cricket in India has remained mum, and it seems unfair that Yadav must answer questions that ought to be directed at elected Indian politicians at the highest level. If this is official government policy, it should be stated publicly.
Yet, 20 minutes after Yadav and Agha went their separate ways, Wasim Akram and Rohit Sharma—two of the greatest to have played for their countries—greeted each other, hugged and shared a smile. At the end of last year, India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar shook hands with the Speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq during a ceremony in Dhaka. If it is acceptable to them, what prevents cricket teams from engaging?
Curiouser still, for revenue’s sake—exemplified by this edition’s boycott call—one team cannot do without playing the other in multi-nation events. Tennis players are often cited to legitimise the no-handshake policy, but there is a difference: they are independent contractors first. In a team sport, cricketers represent a country. This policy does not seem to represent one.