Indian Team Crosses Path With Pakistan After Handshake Row. Here's What Happened
The Indian team, following their seven-wicket win, refused to shake hands with their opponents last Sunday.
The Indian team continued to fine tune their game ahead of the Asia Cup Super 4s, starting Saturday, September 20. Before that, the Suryakumar Yadav-led side will take on Oman in their final Group A encounter on Friday. Ahead of the game, the Indian players trained at the ICC Cricket Academy, not far from where the Pakistan was having light football drills. Amid the buzz that the team might skip the training, the players checked in even as the Indians continued with their gruelling session, which had entered the third hour by then.
The intensity of the two training sessions said it all about the gulf in standards that is widening exponentially with each passing day.
While the Indians had a full-fledged warm-up session with even the likes of Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma doing Bronco runs under Adrian Le Roux, the Pakistan team's training comprised an archaic passing-the-football session, something that was in vogue 15 years back.
While one can argue that the team is relaxed despite the on-field hammering from India and the off-field issues, the noise and banter in the company of the strength and conditioning coach did tell a story about suppressed tension, even as the Indian media watched the session from close.
Not once did any Pakistani player venture towards the Indian arena to have a look as their nets started under head coach Mike Hesson.
The two teams were at the centre of a major controversy following their Group A clash last Sunday. The Indian team, following their seven-wicket win, refused to shake hands with their opponents.
In response to India's stance, Pakistan didn't send their captain Salman Ali Agha for the post-match rituals. In the aftermath of the incident, the PCB had asked for the removal of match referee, Andy Pycroft, from the tournament citing violation of ICC rules and regulations, only to be rejected by the game's global governing body.
(With PTI Inputs)
India Cricket Team
Pakistan Cricket Team