September 26, 2025

The Asia Cup is heating up, but so is the tension between India and Pakistan! With the final match looming on Sunday, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has stepped into the spotlight to talk about the bubbling controversy — Indian players not shaking hands with their Pakistani rivals. Talking to ANI, Tharoor said, "I personally feel that once the decision had been made to play, if we feel so strongly about Pakistan, we should not have played... But if we are going to play them, we should play in the spirit of a game, and we should have shaken their hands..." He reminded everyone of the powerful example from 1999, during the tough times of the Kargil War. "On the very day the soldiers were dying for our country, we were playing the World Cup in England against Pakistan. We were shaking their hands even then because the spirit of the game is a different spirit from what goes on between countries, between Armies and so on. That is my view," Tharoor added. The senior Congress leader also pointed out that both teams seem to have lost their cool. "If the Pakistani team, having been insulted the first time, decided to insult us back the second time, it shows that the spirit of the game is lacking on both sides," he said. Meanwhile, the trouble on the field is serious. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has lodged official complaints against Pakistani players Sahibzada Farhan and Haris Rauf for their provocative antics during the Super Four match on September 21. Farhan sparked outrage by celebrating his half-century by holding his bat like a gun—a very controversial and insensitive gesture. Then came Haris Rauf’s fiery moments. After taking Sanju Samson’s wicket, he showed aggressive behavior. Later, near the boundary, he responded to Indian fans’ chants by flashing a "0-6" sign, referring to Pakistan’s disputed claim of shooting down six Indian fighter jets after Operation Sindoor. This gesture blew up on social media, making Rauf the target of many Indian fans’ jokes and memes. Interestingly, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also fought back. They filed complaints against Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav for his political remarks about an incident in Pahalgam after the match on September 14. On the scoreboard, India has humiliated Pakistan in their two games, marching confidently to the Asia Cup final. If they meet again on Sunday, expect sparks to fly—not just on the field, but off it as well. Will the spirit of the game win, or will politics continue to cloud the cricket pitch? The whole nation will be watching!

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Tags: India vs pakistan, Asia cup, Shashi tharoor, Bcci complaints, Pcb complaints, Sportsmanship,