Azharuddin on India-Pak Asia Cup row: 'Nothing wrong with shaking hands'

Ahead of India and Pakistan’s high-stakes Asia Cup match in the UAE on Sunday (September 21), former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin, while commenting on the handshake row from the last match between the two teams, said there is nothing wrong with shaking hands and India should not have played the game if they had decided to protest.

Most Indians, including fans and former players, had supported Team India’s decision against shaking hands with the Pakistani players after the game and even shutting the door of the dressing room after the defending champions thumped the opponents by seven wickets in a one-sided match.

Also read: Ind vs Pak, Asia Cup Super Four: After handshake row, stage set for Round 2

The 62-year-old cricketer-turned-politician, who has also served as an administrator of the game, feels India should not have played the game if they had decided to protest. But if they were playing, then all things should be taken care of.

'Nothing wrong with shaking hands'

Speaking with NDTV, Azharuddin said, “I feel that there was nothing wrong with shaking hands. When you are playing the match, you might as well play with everything, like shake hands or whatever. I don't know what the problem was. I really cannot understand. But I don't feel there was anything wrong.”

He also warned against the idea of playing matches under protest, saying it did not make sense.

Also read: R Ashwin defends referee Andy Pycroft in India-Pak handshake row

“When you're playing in protest, you might as well not play. There's no point playing under protest. Once you've agreed to play-be it ICC events or the Asia Cup-then you must play with full intensity. Otherwise, there's no need to play at all,” he added.

The former national captain, one of the finest batters India has produced, but faced a match-fixing ban, has always maintained that if India don’t play Pakistan in bilateral matches, they should not play them in multilateral tournaments either.

There was a major uproar in India after the national team was cleared to play Pakistan in the Asia Cup, since tempers were running high after the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam in Kashmir in April, in which many Indian tourists were killed.

India beat Pak in group match

The two teams eventually met at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in a group encounter on September 14, and India emerged as decisive winners, thrashing Pakistan by seven wickets after restricting them to 127 runs in 20 overs.

Also read: Smriti Mandhana breaks Virat Kohli’s all-time ODI record with 50-ball hundred

Captain Suryakumar Yadav, who did not shake hands with his Pakistani counterpart Salman Agha at the toss, played a match-winning 47 not out and walked straight out of the ground with Shivam Dube after the match ended. Agha later stayed away from the post-match interview, and the Pakistanis accused match referee Andy Pycroft of being biased towards India.

Also read: Who is Mithun Manhas, ex-Delhi cricketer tipped to become next BCCI president?

There were also rumours of Pakistan boycotting their next game against the UAE, which they did not, and made the Super Four by winning that game.

The last time Pakistan beat India in international cricket was in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup 2022 in Dubai.