The country which shall not be named! India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, who is under fire for refusing to shake hands with Pakistani players, has managed to avoid naming Pakistan since the first round of the Asia Cup 2025 clash. Suryakumar was asked seven questions regarding the IND vs PAK Super 4 clash in the Asia Cup. But he avoided namedropping Pakistan in any of them. First, it was Sanjay Manjrekar who asked him about the match on Sunday at the post-match presentation. He refused. Then, the Indian media asked him six questions regarding the Sunday blockbuster. But all SKY did was laugh, use his humour, witty responses and otherwise avoid naming Pakistan.
The clash on September 14 was a one-sided affair with India cruising. But it’s not what happened during the match that took the spotlight. It was what happened at the toss and after the match that stole the limelight. There was no customary handshake between the two captains at the toss. Team India refused the handshake again after the match. As the game finished, Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube headed back to the dressing room and then locked the door. Pakistani players waited for their opponents, but the Indians gave them a cold shoulder. It was followed by Suryakumar Yadav dedicating the victory to the families of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and the Indian armed forces, who were involved in a clash with Pakistani forces in Operation Sindoor.
Country which shall not be named
Since the Group A match on Sep 14, a lot of things have happened. The Pakistan Cricket Board complained to the ICC against match referee Andy Pycroft for allowing the Indian players not to shake hands. PCB also almost boycotted the UAE match. Their media and former players also accused Suryakumar Yadav of politicising a cricket match.
However, as the episodes unfolded during India’s break, Suryakumar Yadav maintained his silence. And since then, he has avoided the name “Pakistan” for all instances, including post-match presentation and press conferences. He has refused to disclose whether Team India will continue their no-handshake policy against Pakistani players on Sep 21. Here are the instances when SKY refused to name Pakistan or avoided the context completely.
Instance 1
At the post-match presentation after India vs Oman match, Sanjay Manjrekar asked: “All set for Sunday’s match against Pakistan?”
Suryakumar Yadav: “All set for Super 4.” He said with a smile.
Instance 2
At the pre-match press conference, when a reporter asked about the India vs Pakistan rivalry, Suryakumar wittily avoided naming the arch-rivals.
Reporter: How do you see the India-Pakistan rivalry since the contests are turning out to be lopsided in terms of cricketing quality and not like it used to be in the 2000s?
Suryakumar Yadav: “At that time, I don’t know, I have never played (laughs), so I can’t say. But if we talk about rivalry, I don’t know what rivalry you are talking about (smile). I just feel that when the stadium is full, I tell my team and everyone that it’s time for entertainment and people have come to watch the match. So, you have to entertain everyone. Let’s play some good brand of cricket.”
Instance 3
In another instance, a reporter asked if winning the match against Sunday was special, considering everything that was going on outside the field. SKY avoided naming Pakistan again and refused to term it as a special win.
Reporter: Is winning India vs Pakistan a special feeling?
Suryakumar Yadav: We have played three matches and we enjoyed winning all three as we did in the previous match (Pakistan). I feel every game is a new challenge.
Instance 4
When a journalist asked if Team India would continue to ignore handshakes in the next IND vs PAK game of Asia Cup, SKY avoided the question and instead offered a witty response.
Reporter: Captain, you guys batted well and also did a lot of other things well in the last game. So do you want to continue doing that?
Suryakumar Yadav: By other things, you mean we bowled well, isn’t it?
Instance 5
When another reporter asked if it was nice to play against Oman and just enjoy cricket instead of focusing on the chaos surrounding IND vs PAK game, Suryakumar once again refused to name Pakistan.
Reporter: Was it nice to play this game (Oman) when the focus was on all the other things in the last game?
Suryakumar Yadav: I think the focus was always on the game, in all three games we played. It never changed from that
Instance 6
Another journalist asked SKY what his message would be to the fans for the IND vs PAK match. But instead of naming Pakistan and asking the fans to celebrate, SKY offered a witty response. Sunday will be special not because of the IND vs PAK match but because it’s a holiday.
Reporter: In the last India vs Pakistan match, we saw that fans were angry. What will be your message to the fans for Sunday? Should they just enjoy the match and forget the rest?
Suryakumar Yadav: Our country has always supported us, I hope they continue to support us the same way. Also, it is Sunday, so more people will watch the game together. We will try to play with the same intensity.
India vs Pakistan: More noise than substance
The recent clashes between the two rivals have been so lopsided that it has taken away the essence of a rivalry. The last close contest was in T20 World Cup 2022 when Virat Kohli played a special knock. But since then, India have won all five matches comfortably. However, despite India’s dominant performance, the IND vs PAK clashes have been termed as the greatest rivalry.
For players, they have had to deal with the outside noise more than cricket. Even in the last match, fans were angry at the BCCI for allowing the team to play against Pakistan just four months after Operation Sindoor. But India’s T20 captain has a message for his teammates on shutting out the noise as much as possible.
“Close your room, switch off your phone and sleep. I think that’s the best. It’s easy to say, but sometimes it is difficult because you meet a lot of friends, you go out for dinner, and you have a lot of players also around who like to see all these things, so it’s very difficult,” Suryakumar said ahead of Sunday’s clash.
However, India’s T20I captain has refused to give his team an edge despite the lop-sided nature of the rivalry of late.
“I feel our preparations have been really good leading into the tournament and we had three good games also. So we are actually focusing on what we can do best. It doesn’t give us an edge that we have played them once. We will have to start well from scratch and whoever plays well will win the game,” he said.
