Indian captain dedicates win to army, victims of Pahalgam attack

India captain Suryakumar Yadav defended his decision not to shake hands with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha at the toss during the Asia Cup 2025. The Indian players also skipped the customary post-match routine of shaking hands with the opposition.

Suryakumar, speaking to the press on Sunday, responded to a journalist who asked whether he believed refusing to shake hands with the opposition was against the spirit of sportsmanship. The India captain’s response came after he dedicated the win over Pakistan to the Indian armed forces and said the senior national team stood in solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.

“Few things in life are ahead of sportsman spirit. We stand with all the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and we stand with their families. As I said, we dedicate this win to our brave armed forces who took part in Operation Sindoor,” said the India captain, who celebrated his 35th birthday on Monday.

Hinting that the decision not to shake hands was pre-planned, Suryakumar added: “Our government and BCCI, we were aligned together. The rest, we came here, we took a call. I feel we came here just to play the game. I think we gave them a proper reply.”

Notably, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha refrained from attending the post-match presentation ceremony. Head coach Mike Hesson explained that Pakistan were disappointed by India denying the customary handshakes, and that Salman’s absence from the presentation was a “flow-on effect.”

The Indian cricket team and the BCCI had faced backlash on social media for agreeing to play Pakistan in the Asia Cup in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, which left 26 people, mostly tourists, dead in April. India retaliated with Operation Sindoor, targeting terror camps in Pakistan in May. (India Today)