India won the T20 match easily and expectedly. The team was just far too strong for Pakistan. Truth be told, Pakistan were never in the game. India’s bowlers were on the ball, but this was helped along by Pakistan’s batsmen not really having a clear thought process on how they were going to build a T20 innings.
None of the batsmen looked in any control, except for Sahibzada Farhan and his anchoring 40 came off 44 balls. Pakistan’s inability to transfer the pressure back onto India meant the spinners could settle into their process, bowl to the field set and press on, ensuring wickets fell at regular intervals. When it was India’s turn at bat, the gulf between the two teams was even more apparent.
Abhishek Sharma gave full expression to his creative and free instincts. Abhishek made only 31 but he got there in such quick time that it allowed the batsmen to follow to simply pick off the bowling with no thoughts about the run rate.
The real action, however, began after the win.
Suryakumar Yadav was happy to hear sections of the crowd singing him birthday wishes, but his impish grin quickly switched gears. “Our government and BCCI, we were aligned. Together, we came here, we took a call and I feel we came here just to play the game. And we gave the proper reply,” said Suryakumar. This was in response to the Indian team’s decision not to shake hands with the opposition after the game.
Clearly a diktat had come in from the BCCI. In that moment, though, Surya was less captain of the men he led onto the field in pursuit of perfection in the sport and passion that had given him everything, and more representative of his cricket board.
When asked again about the decision, Surya explained: “I feel a few things in life are ahead of sportsman spirit,” he said. “I have told it at the presentation as well that we stand with all the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, stand with their families and, express our solidarity. Also, we dedicate this win to our brave armed forces who took part in Operation Sindoor. And as they continue to inspire us all, we will try our best whenever given an opportunity to inspire them as well, if possible.”
It’s perfectly legitimate to dedicate the win to the armed forces and the survivors of the attack, but to not shake the hands of the opposition after the match felt like an empty win, if it can be called that. If India will engage meaningfully on the field, against eleven players from Pakistan, there is no good reason why they should not shake hands after, the victor and the vanquished closing the loop on participation being the cornerstone of sport. Pakistan reacted immediately, not sending their captain to the postmatch presentation.
“I think it’s just the follow-on effect of the fact that we were obviously keen to engage and shake hands at the end of the match. That didn’t happen. That was pretty much the end of it,” Mike Hesson, the coach said. “Obviously, we were ready to shake hands at the end of the game. We were disappointed that our opposition didn’t do that.”
Not long after, the Pakistan Cricket Board wrote to the International Cricket Council asking that Andy Pycroft, the match referee, be relieved of his duties for the rest of the tournament. They allege that Pycroft instructed the captains not to shake hands at the toss, ahead of the game.
The Economic Times could not independently verify this but the anger felt is real.
The difficulty in the entire situation is that the players, who live under the glare of intense public scrutiny, have been reduced to mere pawns by their cricket boards. In each instance the boards take instruction from their respective governments.
The buck really stops there, but on both sides of the border, softer targets — players, administrators, the media — attract the ire of fans. One thing is clear, though. The battle lines have been drawn on and off the field, and this means that a potential India-Pakistan clash in the weekend, will once again be watched closely for many reasons other than just cricket.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com)
None of the batsmen looked in any control, except for Sahibzada Farhan and his anchoring 40 came off 44 balls. Pakistan’s inability to transfer the pressure back onto India meant the spinners could settle into their process, bowl to the field set and press on, ensuring wickets fell at regular intervals. When it was India’s turn at bat, the gulf between the two teams was even more apparent.
Abhishek Sharma gave full expression to his creative and free instincts. Abhishek made only 31 but he got there in such quick time that it allowed the batsmen to follow to simply pick off the bowling with no thoughts about the run rate.
The real action, however, began after the win.
Suryakumar Yadav was happy to hear sections of the crowd singing him birthday wishes, but his impish grin quickly switched gears. “Our government and BCCI, we were aligned. Together, we came here, we took a call and I feel we came here just to play the game. And we gave the proper reply,” said Suryakumar. This was in response to the Indian team’s decision not to shake hands with the opposition after the game.
Clearly a diktat had come in from the BCCI. In that moment, though, Surya was less captain of the men he led onto the field in pursuit of perfection in the sport and passion that had given him everything, and more representative of his cricket board.
When asked again about the decision, Surya explained: “I feel a few things in life are ahead of sportsman spirit,” he said. “I have told it at the presentation as well that we stand with all the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, stand with their families and, express our solidarity. Also, we dedicate this win to our brave armed forces who took part in Operation Sindoor. And as they continue to inspire us all, we will try our best whenever given an opportunity to inspire them as well, if possible.”
It’s perfectly legitimate to dedicate the win to the armed forces and the survivors of the attack, but to not shake the hands of the opposition after the match felt like an empty win, if it can be called that. If India will engage meaningfully on the field, against eleven players from Pakistan, there is no good reason why they should not shake hands after, the victor and the vanquished closing the loop on participation being the cornerstone of sport. Pakistan reacted immediately, not sending their captain to the postmatch presentation.
“I think it’s just the follow-on effect of the fact that we were obviously keen to engage and shake hands at the end of the match. That didn’t happen. That was pretty much the end of it,” Mike Hesson, the coach said. “Obviously, we were ready to shake hands at the end of the game. We were disappointed that our opposition didn’t do that.”
Not long after, the Pakistan Cricket Board wrote to the International Cricket Council asking that Andy Pycroft, the match referee, be relieved of his duties for the rest of the tournament. They allege that Pycroft instructed the captains not to shake hands at the toss, ahead of the game.
The Economic Times could not independently verify this but the anger felt is real.
The difficulty in the entire situation is that the players, who live under the glare of intense public scrutiny, have been reduced to mere pawns by their cricket boards. In each instance the boards take instruction from their respective governments.
The buck really stops there, but on both sides of the border, softer targets — players, administrators, the media — attract the ire of fans. One thing is clear, though. The battle lines have been drawn on and off the field, and this means that a potential India-Pakistan clash in the weekend, will once again be watched closely for many reasons other than just cricket.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com)
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