A journalist who attended the Asia Cup 2025 captains’ press meet on September 9 revealed the real story behind India captain Suryakumar Yadav and Pakistan captain Salman Agha’s handshake moment after the presser ended.

The Asia Cup 2025 began on September 9 with Afghanistan defeating Hong Kong with ease in Abu Dhabi.

But before that, the brief handshake between Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and Pakistani captain Salman Ali Agha during the captains' press conference in the run-up to the Asia Cup garnered a lot of attention.

“A big number of journalists arrived, mostly from India. Very few from Pakistan, many more from Bangladesh than from Pakistan, and very few from Sri Lanka as well,” journalist Ruturaj Borkakoty told Sports Today.

"I saw a very cordial press conference, actually. I really don't think that we should make too much out of it because there was a very brief moment after that press conference was over, as the captains were leaving the stage, and Surya was trying to get to the backside of the conference room, and when Salman Agha shook his hands,” he added.  

Short videos of the handshake were circulated on social media, sparking a flurry of responses. However, Borkakoty, who had seen everything happen, quickly put an end to the commotion.

"It was a very cordial, very brief, fleeting moment. They were not like exchanging. I don't think they really had a nice chat like the captains normally do or the players do when they meet at events like this. I didn't see that,” he said.

Every encounter between Indian and Pakistani leaders became a topic of public discussion due to domestic political sensitivities, and even a simple handshake became newsworthy. But the occasion was nothing more than simple sportsmanship, as Borkakoty noted.

"I saw videos of it as well, and I have heard about the reactions from people on social media, and I'm quite surprised, actually, at what else you were expecting to do. I mean, you are meeting a player that you are going to play and the captain of the opposition team in a few days' time.

No matter what the situation is between the two countries, you are actually playing an international event. And if you're playing an international event and if you are attending a press conference, an official press conference, and you have to be at your best, even while representing India, and the same for the Pakistan captain, and the same for every captain representing their countries,” the journo stated.

India will begin their Asia Cup 2025 on September 10, 2025, against the UAE in Dubai. The Men in Blue will then clash with Pakistan at the same venue on September 14, and their final Group A game will be against Oman on September 19 in Abu Dhabi.