Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav on Sunday once again didn’t shake hands with Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha at the toss. India and Pakistan are set to clash in their third and final encounter of the ongoing Asia Cup tonight. India won the toss and has elected to bowl first vs Pakistan. The electric final marks the first Asia Cup final which will be played between the two teams since 1984.
Salman on difficulties with India
Speaking to reporters ahead of the game, Salman Ali Agha said that the opposition can do whatever they want, but Pakistan’s team will stick to strictly following protocol. “They can do whatever they want, we will just follow the protocol. The rest is up to them—if they want to come, they come, and if they don’t, we can’t do anything,” Agha said ahead of Sunday’s clash.
The Pakistan captain further added that the team intends to ignore ‘outside noise’ and are fully focused on the final. “We don’t focus on what we can’t control. Media talk, outside noise—we ignore it. Our goal is the Asia Cup,” he concluded.
IND vs PAK: Contest marred with controversies
The ongoing T20I tournament has already witnessed a large bunch of controversies surrounding the India-Pakistan matches that have involved large claims from a particular side about the other team’s lack of sportsmanship and decision to violate ICC’s code of conduct.
India and Pakistan have already played each other twice along the way, with India winning both contests comfortably. However cricket was not the only thing on display in the previous games as the fixtures were overshadowed by controversies surrounding sportsmanship, a lack of handshakes, and provocative gestures that are rooted in the military conflict between the two nations earlier this year.
Both Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) filed complaints against individual players from both sides based on their conduct during the last encounter of the sport’s greatest rivals.
The complaints resulted in the International Cricket Council (ICC) taking disciplinary action against Suryakumar Yadav, Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan. The Indian skipper was fined 30% of his match fee and cautioned to avoid political remarks. Meanwhile, Sahibzada Farhan who celebrated his half century with a controversial and provocative gun-firing gesture received only a warning.
Pakistan’s Haris Rauf whose provocative gestures of making a plane crash on the ground and abusive language toward Indian fans alluding to military conflict was fined 30% of his match fee.