Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Monday posted a short clip that appears to show India captain Suryakumar Yadav shaking hands with Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi during a pre-tournament ceremony, reviving the debate over Sunday’s India-Pakistan Asia Cup encounter.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Raut argued that the viral on-field handshake controversy was “nothing but nationalist drama for cameras.” “If patriotism truly ran in your veins, you would never have set foot on the field with Pakistan. From top to bottom, it’s pure theatre and the Indian public is being played,” he wrote.
Yadav had declined to shake hands with Pakistan skipper Salman Agha at the toss before the group-stage clash, later defending the move by saying “some things are above sportsman spirit.”
Raut, who had urged a boycott of matches against Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack and May’s border clashes, dismissed the gesture as “fake patriotism.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray echoed the sentiment, advising “true patriots” to switch off their televisions for the match. Addressing reporters in Mumbai, Raut added, “I don’t know about the BJP’s so-called patriots, but real patriots didn’t watch yesterday’s game.”
Referring to reports that the Indian side declined to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Naqvi, Raut said, “You refused the trophy from the PCB chief, yet here is video of the captain shaking hands, having tea and posing for photographs. Do you think the public is foolish?”
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