Sanjay Raut slams ‘boycott’ hypocrisy, shares video of Suryakumar Yadav shaking hands with Pakistan cricket chief

Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and party’s chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut lashed out at the Indian cricket team on Monday for enacting a ‘drama’ to fool the Indian public into believing that it had refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief and minister Mohsin Naqvi. He shared a video showing Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav greeting, posing for a picture, and even shaking hands with Naqvi before the Asia Cup match.

“I don’t know about the BJP’s fake patriots and devotees, but the real patriots did not watch the match on Sunday. You did not take the trophy from PCB chief Naqvi, but I shared a video showing the Indian captain shaking hands with them, having tea, and clicking pictures. Do you think the public is a fool?” Sanjay Raut said, lashing out at the Indian cricket team’s hypocrisy at a press conference here on Monday.

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“If patriotism were truly in your blood, you wouldn’t have even stepped on the field with Pakistan. Top to bottom — pure theatre. Indian public being played,” Sanjay Raut tweeted on X, calling the handshake controversy during the first India versus Pakistan game a “nationalist drama cooked up for TV cameras”.

“At the start of the cricket series, 15 days ago, he (Indian cricket captain Suryakumar Yadav) shook hands and clicked photos with Pakistan’s minister Mohsin Naqvi. But now they are showing the country a drama of patriotism. If nationalism truly flowed in their blood, they should not have stepped onto the field against Pakistan,” Sanjay Raut tweeted on X.

Raut called the cricket match between India and Pakistan “an insult to the Indian Army and the people who died during the Pahalgam terror attack”.

“Our question is, why are you playing with Pakistan? You should not insult the soldiers who were martyred and the people who died in Pahalgam. You did not take the trophy and did not shake hands with their captain, so why did you play the match? If you played the match, then stop this drama,” Sanjay Raut said.

“Appearances on the field are different, and the appearance inside is very different. Who are you fooling? Have you taken inspiration from the Prime Minister to fool the country? This needs to come before the people now,” Sanjay Raut said.