Key Points

The handshake snub was the brainchild of head coach Gambhir, who had advised the Indian players against engaging in a handshake with the Pakistani players and also asked them not to have any verbal exchanges with the archrivals, according to a report in Telecom Asia Sport.

In an exclusive account of Gambhir's address to the players before the match, the report claimed that the head coach also advised the players to avoid social media and ignore all chatter about the match in the media.

For days leading up to India’s Asia Cup blockbuster against Pakistan in Dubai, the Indian players were under siege. Social media was awash with demands to boycott the fixture after the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives earlier this year. Some critics even went as far as to call the players “traitors” for taking the field against their arch-rivals, the report by www.telecomasia.net claimed.

With the players restless over the constant questions over their participation in the match for which the board and the government have given permission, head coach Gautam Gambhir gathered his squad in the dressing room for a pep talk on the eve of the match.

The report claimed that Telecom Asia Sport (www.telecomasia.net) has learnt that Gambhir told the team to just ignore the Pakistan players during and after the match.

“Cut down on social media, stop reading the noise. Your job is to play for India. Don’t forget what happened in Pahalgam. Don’t shake hands, don’t engage — just go out, show your best, and win for India,” Gambhir said, the report claimed.

The players followed Gambhir's suggestion, and skipper Suryakumar Yadav did not shake hands with his Pakistani counterpart Salman Agha before and after the toss. Later, SKY also dedicated the victory to India's armed forces for their role post the Pahalgam terror attack.

According to the report, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and head coach Mike Hesson later made their way to the Indian dressing room, but no player emerged to acknowledge them.

- IANS