Not Shaking Hands Is Against The Ethos Of Sports

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 19 September 2025 The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief, Mohsin Naqvi, expressed strong disapproval over India's conduct following their Group A fixture against Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup, held in Dubai. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Naqvi criticised the Indian team for refusing to shake hands with their Pakistani counterpartsbefore and after the match, calling it a violation of the spirit of sportsmanship. Naqvi is spot-on. It was indeed a violation of the spirit of sportsmanship. Dragging politics into the game goes against the very spirit of sports. If there was so much rancour, why on earth did India agree to play with Pakistan at a neutral venue? It shouldn't have played in the first place. Playing and then behaving in a rude and rustic manner is not cricket. If it was the government and BCCI's tacit instruction to the players to avoid shaking hands with Pakistani cricketers, then BCCI could have said no to a clash between India and Pakistan. Captain Suryakumar Yadav and his teammates' over-patriotism is also uncalled-for. Dedicating the win to those who lost their lives in the Pahalgam terrorist attack and India's armed forces was melodramatic and superficial. What did the team India prove by acting like gully boys? Cricket is a gentleman's game. Mixing it with politics yields bitterness and invites criticism. When the World XI was playing against Australia in 1971-72, the World XI had cricketers from India and Pakistan. The peerless Sir Garfield Sobers captained the World XI. It had Zaheer Abbas, Intikhab Alam and a pacer Asif Masood from Pakistan and Sunil Gavaskar, Farokh Engineer and Bishen Singh Bedi from India. The war between India and Pakistan was going on. Despite that, the cricketers from both the countries played without ill-feelings and bad-blood. War was not dragged into the cricketing field. Bedi and Alam remained the best of friends till Bedi passed away a few years ago. Sunny and Zaheer are still very close friends. They appreciated each other's batting even on the ground. Gavaskar went to check on Zaheer Abbas' well-being when the latter was admitted to a hospital in England during Covid. Farokh Engineer once told an interviewer that when he played for Lancashire county (1968-1976) and Bedi for Northamptonshire (1972-1977), there were not many Indian cricketers playing in the county circuit in England. But almost all cricketers from Pakistan were county regulars. They all got along so well in spite of wars and frequent skirmishes between the two neighbouring countries in the sub-continent. War was never discussed and debated. Readers may be aware that at the height of Kargil War in 1999, India and Pakistan played their famous match at Old Trafford which the Mohammad Azharuddin-led side won and at the toss of that game, Azharuddin had shaken hands with Pakistan counterpart Wasim Akram. Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina made explosive revelations to a news outlet that none of the Indian cricketers wanted to play in the Asia Cup but they were compelled to play by the BCCI. Whatever may have been the truth, it doesn't reflect well on the image of Indian cricketers and the game in general. Proponents of such unsporting behaviour might say that at the World fencing championship in Ukraine in 2023, a Ukrainian contestant refused to shake hands with his Russian opponent in protest over the war. Earlier in 2023 Kostyuk also refused to shake the hand of her Russian opponent, Vavara Gracheva, after winning her first WTA title in Texas. Polish chess player Jan-Krzysztof Duda refused to shake hands with Russian Denis Khismatullin, who supports the invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian tennis player Anhelina Kalinina refused to shake hands with Veronika Kudermetova, her Russian opponent, following the former’s victory in the semi-finals of the Rome Masters in Italy in 2023. Granted, but this is also true that such boorish behaviour has never been appreciated wholeheartedly. Increasing nationalism in India (and elsewhere as well) is creating a dangerous mindset at a collective level. Mind you, nationalism is not to be confused with patriotism. While patriotism is a sense of pride and love for one's country, nationalism takes this sentiment to a more extreme level, often incorporating a sense of superiority and a desire for dominance over others. Nationalism can often lead to harmful actions and ideologies such as discrimination, xenophobia, and even war. By recognizing the difference between nationalism and patriotism, we can strive to cultivate a healthy sense of pride in our country without falling into the trap of harmful and divisive nationalist ideologies. Nationalism is the lunatic’s and the assassin's religion. Extreme nationalism can lead individuals to dangerous and violent actions. Nationalism, when taken to the extreme, can breed prejudice, hatred, and aggression towards those perceived as outsiders or enemies. It can also justify acts of violence in the name of defending one's nation. Remember, nationalism is the worst enemy of peace. By placing excessive emphasis on a sense of pride and loyalty to one's own nation, individuals can become blinded to the perspectives and needs of others. This sense of superiority and exclusivity fuels conflict, division, and hostility between different nations, often leading to violence and war. Of late, increasing religiosity in India also has a role to play. Pakistan and its cricketers are being viewed through the prism of religion which is very unfortunate. The arena of sports must be cleared of the clamour for war and politics. A sportsman or a sportswoman ought to have a healthy respect and love for the country but it mustn't snowball into militant nationalism or jingoism. Cricket's a gentleman's game. Play it like a gentleman and don't show your pettiness on the ground. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. 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