Pakistan captain skips post-match presentation vs India; Mike Hesson reveals the reason

In an interesting turn of events, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha had decided not to be a part of the post-match presentation ceremony after the Indian players decided not to shake their hands after India’s seven-wicket win in Dubai on Sunday, September 14.

Speaking in the post-match press conference, Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson revealed that India's refusal of the customary handshakes after the game didn’t go down well with the Pakistani skipper, and he decided to skip the post-match presentation ceremony for the same reason.

"I think what happened was just a flow-on effect. We were ready to shake hands. We are obviously disappointed that our opposition didn't do that. We sort of went over there to shake hands, but they had already gone to the changing room. That was a disappointing way for the match to finish. We were willing to shake hands. We were keen to shake hands at the end of the match, but that didn't happen, and that was pretty much the end of it," Hesson said during the chat with the media.

To make things more interesting, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has lodged an official complaint against the Indian players’ behaviour of not shaking hands and termed it as ‘unsporting’.

“Team manager Naveed Cheema lodged a strong protest against the Indian players' behaviour of not shaking hands. It was deemed as unsporting and against the spirit of the game. As a protest, we did not send our captain to the post-match ceremony," read a PCB statement.

The Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav, who was part of the post-match presentation, made it clear that it was a team call and stated that they had come only to play and give the opposition a perfect reply.

"We took a team call. We had come only to play. We had given them a reply. Some things are beyond sportsmanship. We dedicate this victory to our armed forces who took part in 'Operation Sindoor' and stand with families of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack," said Suryakumar in the post-match presentation.

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