Salman Agha: India are 'disrespecting cricket'

Pakistan captain Salman Agha has criticised the Indian team for what he called their "disappointing" behaviour during the Asia Cup.

"What India have done this tournament is very disappointing," Agha said at the press conference after the final. "They're not disrespecting us by not shaking hands, they're disrespecting cricket. Good teams don't do what they did today. We went to pose with the trophy on our own because we wanted to fulfill our obligations. We stood there and took our medals. I don't want to use harsh words but they've been very disrespectful."

After Pakistan lost the Asia Cup final to India in a last-over thriller in Dubai on Sunday, there was more than a 90-minute delay before the presentation ceremony began, with India refusing to accept the trophy from ACC president and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the Interior Minister of Pakistan. It was the culmination of a series of incidents where India have looked to limit any contact with Pakistan players or officials during the tournament.

Agha said he did not have an issue with Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav. He claimed that if it had been up to Suryakumar, he would have shaken hands with Agha before the toss, referring to prior incidents in this tournament where the two men had acknowledged and greeted each other.

"He shook hands with me in private at the start of the tournament," Agha said. "Both at the pre-tournament press conference, and when we met in the referee's meeting. But when they're out in the world in front of the cameras, they don't shake our hands. I'm sure he's following the instructions he's been given, but if it was up to him, he'd shake hands with me."

Reiterating his position before the final, Agha said he did not believe there was a precedent in cricket for an opposing team refusing handshakes, calling it "detrimental" to the spirit of cricket. The manner in which the presentations unfolded, with India holding up an imaginary trophy was "a consequence of everything they had done before".

"This is the first time I've ever seen this happen," Agha said. "Whatever happened in this tournament was very bad, and I hope it stops at some stage because it's bad for cricket. Everything that happened today was a consequence of all that happened [before]. Of course the ACC president will give the trophy to the winners. If you won't take the trophy from him, how will you get it?"

As with the previous two India-Pakistan matches in this tournament, there were no handshakes at the toss of the final or following the game, and the teams stood apart in separate huddles while waiting for the presentation ceremony to begin. Agha said all that had unfolded had not set a good example to those following the game in either India or Pakistan, but placed the blame squarely on the opposition.

"I'm not just a Pakistan captain, I'm a cricket fan. If a kid's watching in India or Pakistan, we're not sending them a good message. People think of us as role models, but if we're behaving like this, we're not inspiring them. What happened shouldn't have happened, but you should ask the people [India] responsible for this rather than me."