On Tuesday, the Asia Cricket Council (ACC) conducted its regular captains' press conference ahead of the 2025 Asia Cup to be played in the UAE.
All eight national team captains attended, and questions were mostly aimed at Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and India's Suryakumar Yadav.
India is going into the tournament as the defending T20 World champions and Asia Cup holders, while Pakistan has just finished a tri-series series win in the UAE against Afghanistan and hosts UAE. The moment that gained social media attention was the absence of a handshake between the two captains.
At the end of the conference, Salman Ali Agha exited the stage in a hurry with the Hong Kong and Oman captains. Suryakumar, however, stayed back to converse with the Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh captains, shaking hands and embracing them before he left.
It was not the first such incident to gain spotlight this year. In India's tour of England for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, there was a similar occurrence in the fourth Test at Old Trafford. England skipper Ben Stokes had given Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar a handshake to shake hands on a draw, but the two Indian batsmen spurned it, playing on to score their centuries. The incident ignited controversy on social media, with opinions split between those that criticized India for disallowing the gesture and others that defended the right of the players to pursue their achievements.
The Asia Cup press conference debacle has lent a new dimension to the growing tension leading up to India and Pakistan's Group A encounter on September 14 at the Dubai International Stadium. Suryakumar Yadav emphasized that aggression will be important for India's victory in their second group match. "Aggression is always present on the field, and if there is no aggression, I don't think you can play this game, and I am sure I am very eager to go out there and play," he said in a press briefing.
In reply, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha underlined players' personal styles and urged his side to play according to their personalities on the ground. "You don't need to say anything to any player because everyone is individually very different. If someone wants to be aggressive in the field, they are more than welcome to do that," Agha told the media.
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