'Thik Kiya Salman Agha Ne': Shoaib Akhtar Makes Massive Statement On Pakistan Captain's Refusal To Speak In Post-Game Presentation After Asia Cup 2025 Defeat To India; Video

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar gave his massive take on Salman Ali Agha not choosing to do the post-match presentation following the defeat to India in Asia Cup 2025 clash. Akhtar stated that the Pakistan captain did the right thing and that Team India should have shaken hands with their opposition.

Amid the tense geopolitical climate between the two nations, India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, didn't shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts. The Indian skipper later explained that they came to the ground only to play and wanted to keep a few things above sportsmanship. The 35-year-old pledged their support to their armed forces, keeping in mind the armed conflict that took place a few months ago between the two nations.

Speaking in the post-game analysis show on Tapmad, Akhtar said the below regarding the fiasco

"Speechless, disheartening and I don't know what to say. But hats off to India, well done. Aur isko political na banaao. Cricket match ho raha hai yaar, isko political na banaao yaar. Hum acchi baatein aapke liye kar rahe hain na. Handshake kar lo, koi masla nahin hai. Game of cricket hai. Show your grace. Ladai jhagde hoti rehti hai. Iska yeh matlab nahin hai, you take it to the next level and not shake hands. Yeh mujhse nahin hota, I will go shake my hands with my enemy. Isko political mat banaao yaar, game rehne do. Thik kiya Salman Agha ne, nahin kiya usne press conference."

(Speechless, disheartening and I don't know what to say. But hats off to India, well done. Please don't make it political. It's a cricket match that's going on. We are talking good about India here. But they should have shaken hands. It's a game of cricket. Conflicts keep happening but doesn't mean you take it to next level and not shake hands. I can't do this, I will go shake my hands with my enemy. Let's keep it limited to a game instead of making it political. Salman Agha did the right thing by not doing the presentation.)

"We were disappointed that our opposition didn’t do that" - Mike Hesson

At the post-game press conference, Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson said it was a disappointing gesture from the Indian side and that his players were willing to shake hands. Hesson stated, as quoted by India Today:

"We were ready to shake hands at the end of the game. We were disappointed that our opposition didn’t do that. We had gone towards them to shake hands but they had already gone back to the dressing room. It was a disappointing way for the match to finish. We were disappointed with the way we played but certainly we were willing to go and shake hands."

As for the game, the Men in Blue chased down the target of 128 with seven wickets to spare. Kuldeep Yadav received the Player of the Match award for his figures of 4-0-18-3.