Pakistan men’s captain Salman Ali Agha said on Saturday that he welcomed his players being aggressive on the field ahead of the first-ever final of an Asia Cup between Pakistan and India.
Under fire after two comprehensive losses at the hands of India in the ongoing Asia Cup, the Green Shirts proved they were good enough to make it to the tournament’s final when they edged Bangladesh by 11 runs in their last Super Four outing on Thursday and all that matters now for the side are the title honours.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference in Dubai, Salman said: “Every individual has their own way. If a player wants to be aggressive, then why not? If you take aggression away from a fast bowler, then there’s nothing left.”
He was responding to an Indian journalist’s question about his responsibility as captain to keep his players’ actions in check.
“Every player knows how to deal with their emotions. I give the players a free hand unless they are disrespecting someone or causing disrespect to our country,” the Pakistani skipper added.
Speaking on the refusal of customary post-match handshakes by the Indian men’s team, Salman said: “I’ve been playing since 2007, I’ve never seen teams not shake hands … I don’t think there has been an instance of players not shaking hands.”
He added that on previous occasions, even under worse circumstances between the two countries, handshakes still took place.
The Pakistan captain added that he hoped that his team had “saved their best for the final”.
Asked about media reports from across the border that the Indian captain had refused to attend the captains’ photoshoot ahead of the final, Salman said: “That’s their choice, we have our own protocols to follow.
“If he (Yadav) wants to attend, he can attend — but if he doesn’t want to, then that’s up to him.”
On Friday, India captain Suryakumar Yadav was found guilty by the ICC of breaching the code of conduct for his comments that alluded to the brief military conflict between India and Pakistan this year, after their group stage match in the Asia Cup on September 14, ESPNcricinfo reported.
“It is understood Suryakumar’s not-guilty plea was rejected by ICC match referee Richie Richardson and that he was fined 30pc of his match fee. India have appealed against the verdict,” the publication reported.
The move came after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lodged an official complaint with the ICC against Yadav for dedicating its September 14 win over Pakistan to “the families of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack”.
At least 24 people had been killed in the April attack, which led to a brief military escalation between India and Pakistan, as New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the attack without evidence.
“The PCB had demanded the ICC impose a Level 4 sanction — reserved for the most serious breaches of the ICC Code of Conduct — on Suryakumar. It cited past examples of players who were either prevented from what was deemed political messaging or fined for deploying it,” the ESPNcricinfo report added.
Pakistan’s pacer Haris Rauf and opener Sahibzada Farhan were also reprimanded by the ICC for gestures made during the Asia Cup Super Four stage match against India, ESPNCricinfo added.
According to the publication, the pacer was fined 30 per cent of his match fee by match referee Richie Richardson. At the same time, “It is understood that Pakistan batter Sahibzada Farhan was not fined and let off with a warning by Richardson“.
Pakistan won by 11 runs after stumbling to 135-8 in the virtual semi-final against Bangladesh in their men’s Asia Cup Super Four fixture at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
With that win, the Green Shirts booked their final date with archrivals India for the first time in the 17th iteration of the Asia Cup on Sunday.
