(Image Credit: ANI/ICC Facebook/ACC)
Discussions about shaking hands with the Pakistani players after the Asia Cup 2025 Group A match between India and Pakistan were tense due to Suryakumar Yadav refusing to shake hands with the Pakistanis. Although most of the Pakistani population responded in a formal manner through the PCB, former Pakistani batter Mohammad Yousuf took it much further in a televised debate.
On multiple occasions, in the TV show, Yousuf addressed Suryakumar Yadav with a derogatory word, corrected a few times by the host. His use of strong language and insults have been greatly criticized as unbecoming even to those viewers and commentators who had supported Pakistan point of view. Another previous event that Yousuf mentioned was an incident involving Shahid Afridi, in which he made a comment that he was being treated like a dog, so that he could be compared to the one he is criticizing Suryakumar. This source seems to be an effort to indicate that aggressive verbal responses are not new in the India Pakistan cricketing controversies.
The interaction shows an increasing resentment between fans and ex players on both the parties, where nationalistic or emotional force seems to some to be undermining sportingmanship. It has been observed that these incidents are part of bigger stories, players as bigger than sport, matches as more than sport. The response of the people has been quick. The insults used by Yousuf have been criticized by many such that, though passions are high in such high profile matches, there should be some boundaries to what is said, especially by respectable former players who are regarded as role models. Still other people claim that Yousuf was only expressing the popular opinion, or that his remarks, though brutal, were a result of the feeling that the Indian gesture of no handshake was provocative in itself.
Overall, the incident has put another dimension on the Pakistan India cricketing rivalry, not on what occurs on field, but what is said afterwards. The comments made by Yousuf are also a part of a broader backlash, and probably will fuel the tempers even more.
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