Another national anthem faux pas for Pakistan - Skipper Salman Agha's West inspired hand gesture in Sri Lanka match raises eyebrows

The Pakistan cricket team has always been known for doing something out of the box, and most of the time, that something becomes internet famous for the wrong reasons. A similar 'out of the box' incident happened during the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup 2025 match in Super Four stage on Tuesday (Sep 23). And, at the forefront of this latest faux pas was Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha whose gesture during the national anthem caused eyes to pop up at his country again.

Salman Agha's national anthem gesture raises eyebrows

Pakistan players were standing side-by-side to each other while their national anthem played in the stadium. Skipper Agha was at the left end of the line with his right hand on the shoulder of the player next to his right. While all the other players had their right hand to heart during the national anthem, Agha did the same with his left hand and it is not a pretty picture. Have a look at it below:

Pak skipper Salman Agha's hand gesture during national anthem raises eyebrows Photograph: (AFP)

This is not the first time that Pakistan have been hit by a national anthem faux pas. In their match against India in the group stage when the DJ played Jalebi Baby song instead of the actual anthem which became very embarrassing for the team.

What is Pakistan's national anthem code of conduct

It may not come as a surprise but Pakistan does not have a national anthem code of conduct. Historically, the general and other army officials have been standing in attention until General Zia ul Haq decided to put hand on the heart in the 70s to what seems like West inspired. Benazir Bhutto then followed General Zia's gesture and then some cricketers decided to do it as well without uniformity, as reported by an Express Tribune Pakistan article back in 2018.