India's head coach Gautam Gambhir allegedly masterminded a calculated handshake snub at the Pakistani players by the Indian team before, during, and after their Men's T20 Asia Cup 2025 match, which India comprehensively won by seven wickets at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
The move to forego any post-match sportsmanship gestures had come straight from Gambhir, according to a report by Telecom Asia Sport. He had supposedly told the Indian team not to go in for handshakes or exchanges of words with their bitter rivals.
According to an exclusive look into Gambhir's pre-match speech, the report mentioned that he also told the team to avoid social media and ignore all media gossip about the match.
The players were subjected to tremendous pressure in the days running up to the high-profile India-Pakistan tie in Dubai. Social networking sites were filled with demands for boycotting the match in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, which had left 26 people dead earlier this year. There were even critics who called the players "traitors" for having agreed to play against Pakistan, reports www.telecomasia.net.
During constant questioning regarding their involvement, for which the board and the government had given permission, Gambhir reportedly took his team in the dressing room on the eve of the match for a motivational speech.
Telecom Asia Sport reported that Gambhir told the players to ignore Pakistan completely before and after the game.
“Cut down on social media, stop reading the noise. Your job is to play for India. Don’t forget what happened in Pahalgam. Don’t shake hands, don’t engage — just go out, show your best, and win for India,” Gambhir said, the report claimed.
As per Gambhir's advice, captain Suryakumar Yadav also avoided shaking hands with Pakistan captain Salman Agha both prior to and after the toss. SKY subsequently dedicated India's win to the armed forces for their efforts following the Pahalgam terror attack.
The report went on to state that Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha and head coach Mike Hesson finally went to the Indian dressing room, but no Indian player stepped forward to greet them.
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