Asia Cup 2025: Ex-Pak pacer Akhtar says 'will shake hands with enemies' after India players snub Pak

India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 match was as one-sided as it could have been but the pre and post match handshake snub of Pakistan players by India was the highlight. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has lodged a formal protest with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on what they called 'against the sportsmanship' conduct by the Indian players. The PCB has also lodged a complaint against match referee Andy Pycroft's behaviour who had asked the two captains to avoid handshake during the toss. The whole incident has not gone down well with former Pak pacer Shoaib Akhtar who asked Indian players to 'show some grace.'

Also Read - India vs Pak, Asia Cup 2025: After handshake snub by India, Pak cries 'poor behaivour' from match referee

Akhtar wants India players to 'show some grace'

Former Pak pacer Akhtar was speaking on a Pakistan-based show about the Asia Cup 2025 fixture match against India when he suggested that the game of cricket shouldn't be made political. The statement came as the match was being in shadow of Pahalgam terror attack and hostilities shared by the two nations afterwards.

"Don't make a cricket match political. We have said nice things about you. We can say a lot of things about the no handshake. Fights happen, even inside your house. Forget it, move on. It is the game of cricket, shake your hands, show your grace," he said before adding that he'd go and "shake hands with his enemies."

India vs Pakistan was no contest

The match itself was played between two highly mismatched teams. India played like T20 World Cup and Asia Cup champions they are and Pakistan were a faint image of their past. Batting first after winning the toss, Pakistan were restricted to 127/9 in 20 overs with Indian spinners taking six of nine wickets. In reply, India removed nearly half of the target inside powerplay and eventually won the match in 15.5 overs with seven wickets in hand and also qualified for the Super 4 stage.