‘There should be no handshake even if ICC asks for it’: Basit Ali ahead of India-Pakistan cricket match | T20 World Cup

The cricketing world wonders if India and Pakistan will end the handshake row in today’s match. Actions involving Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and his Pakistani counterpart, Salman Ali Agha, will be closely watched.

Meanwhile, former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali says there shouldn’t be any handshakes.

“I have never shaken hands. I never had this habit. I simply have no interest in it. When I was coaching, I wondered why a handshake was necessary. You lose and then go to shake hands, why?” he said on the YouTube podcast The Game Plan.

“They say it is the spirit of the game. I don’t believe in that. If I were the head coach of the Pakistan team, I would have asked my players not to shake hands. Even if the ICC asks for it, they should not do a handshake,” he added.

Ali’s comment comes during a light-hearted discussion with Kamran Akmal and Pakistani sports anchor Najeeb ul Hasnain. Kamran Akmal, however, had a different take on it.

“Look, it is a good thing. In my view, it enhances the spirit of cricket. When you shake hands, you meet the opposition and appreciate their good performance. Everyone has their own opinion. But I feel this is how it should be,” Kamran Akman said.

“This matter should end, and we should move ahead. If we keep thinking and arguing about it, nothing better will come out of it,” he added.

Basit Ali also addressed the issue of handling Indian openers, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan. He advised Pakistani bowlers to bowl with discipline.

“The most important thing is this: bowl wicket to wicket. Even if they hit a 6 off your delivery, you shouldn’t try to be smart. If they manage to hit a good shot, that’s their quality as players,” Ali said.

“But, the moment you move even slightly away from your line, they won’t spare you. Whether the ball is on the pads or outside the off stump, they will take advantage,” the former cricketer said.

“In the first six overs, you should look for wickets in the right way. Some might say, ‘I’ll set a slip and try something different.’ No, keep the ball attacking the stumps. There are three stumps there. That’s the target. That’s my simple formula,” he added.

“The game should be played in real spirit, the way it has been played since it started. The rest is up to them (India), what they want to do,” he said ahead of the match.

“We don’t have a good record against them in World Cups. But, whenever you come to play a new match, it’s a new day, and you have to play good cricket to win,” the Pakistan captain said.

“You can’t change history. You can learn from it. We learned from i,t and we’ll try to do a good performance tomorrow and win the match,” he added.

“Why are you highlighting that? We are here to play cricket. We will play good cricket. We will take all those calls tomorrow. We will see tomorrow,” he said.