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India‘s commanding seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 has sparked widespread discussion not only for the dominant performance but also for the controversial post-match events that followed. Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar delivered a scathing assessment of Pakistan’s performance while Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav‘s decision to skip traditional handshakes created diplomatic tensions.
Sunil Gavaskar trolls Pakistan after crushing defeat against India in Asia Cup 2025
The 76-year-old former Indian captain who has witnessed Pakistan cricket since the 1960s expressed his disappointment with the current team’s standard. Speaking on Sony Sports Network after the match Gavaskar stated “I don’t know whether Ajay [Jadeja] Viru [Virender Sehwag] or Irfan [Pathan] agree with me but I have been following the Pakistan team from the 1960s. But today is the first time I felt that this is not a Pakistan team. Yeh koi Popatwadi team hai“.
The term “Popatwadi” is Mumbai cricket slang referring to a weak or ordinary team. Pakistan managed only 127/9 in their innings with Indian spinners Kuldeep Yadav (3/18) and Axar Patel (2/18) dismantling their batting lineup. Only Sahibzada Farhan‘s fighting 40 and Shaheen Shah Afridi‘s late flourish of 33* provided some respectability to the total.
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Handshake controversy and dedication to Armed Forces
The match’s aftermath was overshadowed by Indian players’ refusal to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts. Suryakumar and Shivam Dube walked straight to the dressing room after the victory prompting Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha to skip the post-match presentation ceremony in protest.
Defending his team’s actions Suryakumar dedicated the victory to the Indian Armed Forces and expressed solidarity with victims of the Pahalgam terror attack. “Few things in life are ahead of the sportsman spirit, We stand with all the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and we stand with their families. We dedicate this win to our brave armed forces who took part in Operation Sindoor,” he stated in the press conference.
Pakistan Cricket Board has lodged formal complaints with both the Asian Cricket Council and International Cricket Council alleging that match referee Andy Pycroft instructed captains not to shake hands. However, the ICC is reportedly unlikely to accept Pakistan’s demand for Pycroft’s removal with sources suggesting he may have acted on ACC instructions rather than independently.
The controversy highlights the deepening tensions between the cricket teams with India extending their T20I dominance over Pakistan to 11-3. While handshakes remain a cricketing tradition, they are not mandatory under ICC regulations making sanctions against India unlikely.
