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Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha was highly critical of the Indian team's actions during the Asia Cup and in the post-match ceremony after the final. He went on to accuse Suryakumar Yadav & Co. of 'disrespecting' cricket by neither shaking hands with them nor posing with them for the trophy photoshoot. He also had a say on India's act in the post-match presentation where they didn't collect their medals and refused to be handed the trophy by Asian Cricket Council and Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi.
"What happened in this tournament, I think it is very disappointing. If you look at it, they feel that by not shaking hands, they are disrespecting us but in fact they are disrespecting cricket. And anyone who disrespects cricket, I think it comes back and I am very sure that it will happen," Salman said in the post-match press-conference.
"What they have done today, I think a good team doesn't do this. Good teams do what we have done; we went alone and posed with the trophy and even after the loss, we stood there and took our medals. I don't want to use very harsh words but to be very honest, this is very disrespectful to the game, not anyone else," he added.
Agha further went on to state that India's actions will send a wrong message to the young generation of cricket fans. He pointed out how many consider the Indian players as their role models and added that they wouldn't be able to inspire anyone by doing wrong things on the field.
"Say I am not the captain of Pakistan, even just as a cricket fan, I will not second what's happening because it is wrong. To a kid sitting at home, whether he/she is from Pakistan or India, what message are we sending? We are not giving a good message because people think of us as role models, so if we start behaving like this as role models then we are not inspiring anyone. And if we are inspiring, then we are inspiring them about the wrong things. I am saying this again, whatever happened was wrong and it should not have happened. So those who did it should be questioned," Salman stated.
India's emphatic victory over Pakistan in final
Meanwhile, India scripted a record-extending ninth Asia Cup triumph by defeating Pakistan in the final on Sunday. The Men in Blue defeated their arch-rivals by five wickets, chasing down the 147-run target with just two deliveries left to spare. This was the third time in the tournament that the Indian team handed a defeat to Salman Ali Agha & Co, once again asserting their dominance over their arch-rivals.
Who will India face next?
On the other hand, India will now be shifting their focus to red-ball cricket as their next assignment will be a two-match Test series that is set to commence from October 2. This will be the Men in Blue's first Test assignment since the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England.
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