It all began when members of the Indian team refused to shake hands with their Pakistan counterparts. However, prior to the start of the tournament, this wasn’t the case, as the leaders of all eight teams exchanged pleasantries during the all-captains press conference. However, things took an unpleasant turn when, beyond the toss controversy, Indian players refused to shake hands after defeating Pakistan in the league stage. They also declined to engage with the Pakistani players who approached them afterwards, instead choosing to lock themselves inside their dressing room.

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Throughout the tournament, India captain Suryakumar Yadav maintained a calm demeanour, hardly showing signs of breaking down or reacting to the situation. But according to Shashank Singh, Suryakumar’s Mumbai teammate, things might have played out very differently if this had happened in 2015. Shashank believes Suryakumar has learned to control his temper over the years — a decade ago, he says, the old Surya would have let all hell break loose.

“Surya is no longer angry, but years ago, he had a bad temper. He has calmed down a lot. I saw the press conference, where a reporter from Pakistan asked him a question, and he answered with a smile. I told him, ‘Agar yeh 10 saal pehle wala Surya hota, toh uske baad kya kya cheezein hoti, mujhe maloom hai’ (had it been the Suryakumar Yadav from 10 years ago, I know what all he could do. He used to get angry very easily and quickly earlier,” Shashank said on The Lallantop.

Suryakumar Yadav’s response anything but angry

For context, after India beat Pakistan by seven wickets with 25 balls remaining, the reporter asked Suryakumar about ‘spirit of the game’. To it, SKY’s reply was straightforward: “Some things are beyond sportsman spirit,” he was quick to answer, referring to the tensions between the two teams and nations after the Pahalgam terror attacks earlier this year. Two India vs Pakistan matches at the World Championship of Legends were even cancelled, but the Asia Cup went ahead as planned, following a go-ahead by the Indian government.

It’s almost hard to imagine this side of Suryakumar. Since making his India debut, he’s never come across as short-tempered. After all, if he truly had a fiery streak, the Indian team could easily have caused a scene when they were denied the Asia Cup trophy, with Naqvi taking off with the silverware on the night of the final.

“This is one thing which I have never seen. Since I started playing cricket, I have been following cricket. That a champion team is denied a trophy. That too, a hard earned one. It’s not like it happened easily. But it was a hard-earned victory. We have been here since the 4th, and played a game today. Two back-to-back good games in two days. I feel we deserved it. And I can’t say anything more. I think I have summed it up really well,” is what he said.