Either we shouldn’t have played or respected the spirit of game: Shashi Tharoor on India-Pakistan handshake controversy

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the India-Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 match, saying that once India decided to play, the team should have honoured the spirit of the game fully, including extending a handshake to the Pakistani side.

“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.,” Tharoor was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

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Citing historical precedent, Tharoor pointed to the 1999 World Cup match between the two nations, which took place during the Kargil war. Despite ongoing hostilities, Indian and Pakistani players had observed proper sportsmanship.

“We have done this before in 1999, when the Kargil War was going on. 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,” Tharoor stated.

Tharoor also addressed the controversy over Pakistani players’ on-field gestures during the Super Four match, saying that after being insulted in the first match, Pakistani side’s actions in the second game shows both teams had failed to uphold the decorum of the sport.

The Asia Cup 2025 group clash between India Pakistan, which was played against the backdrop of Pahalgam terrorist attack and amid boycott calls, triggered a controversy after Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav decided against the customary handshake with Pakistani captain Selman Agha.

In the super 4 match, the second encounter between the arch rivals also ended up triggering a massive row after Pakistani players made controversial gestures. India thrashed Pakistan in both the matches.