Rahul Gandhi wants dialogue, Modi govt plays religion card: Shahid Afridi's reaction to India's no handshake act irks BJP

Afridi lashed out at Team India and their captain Suryakumar Yadav for showing no courtesy to the opponent players after decimating Pakistan in a group match of Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday.

The former allrounder also blamed the Narendra Modi government in India for Team India's mindset.

In reaction during a television debate, Afridi said, "This government always plays the religion and Hindu-Muslim cards to come to power. This is a nasty mindset... If I talk about Rahul Gandhi, he has a positive mindset.

"He is inclusive and wants dialogue. Is one Israel not enough that India is trying to become another?"

Slamming Rahul, BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya wrote on X, "Rabid Hindu-hater Shahid Afridi, who never misses a chance to spew venom against India and dream of Kashmir joining Pakistan, is suddenly all praise for Rahul Gandhi.

"Afridi says Rahul wants 'dialogue' with Pakistan, while attacking PM Modi by comparing India’s policy on Pakistan to Israel’s actions in Gaza. Why is it that every India-hater finds a friend in Rahul Gandhi? When enemies of Bharat start cheering for you, the people of India know exactly where your loyalties lie."

The Indian cricket board BCCI faced severe criticism from several quarters in the country for participating in the match even though India has decided to not hold any bilateral series as a protest against the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 tourists in Jammu and Kashmir.

The calls from the netizens to boycott the match by not watching it flooded the internet while Suryakumar's men decided to snub the Pakistani players in the match, which was comprehensively won by India.

Suryakumar refused to shake hands with Salman at the toss followed by no handshake post match and in more humiliation for Islamabad, the Indian players shut the door of the dressing room not allowing the opponent to approach them.

When asked by reporters about the act, Suryakumar said, "Our government and BCCI, we were aligned. Together, we came here, we took a call and I feel we came here just to play the game. And we gave them a proper reply. I feel a few things in life are ahead of sportsman's spirit also."

At the post-match presentation ceremony, Suryakumar dedicated the win to the Armed Forces and also expressed solidarity with the families of the Pahalgam terror attack victims.

"We stand by the victims of the families of the Pahalgam terror attack. We express our solidarity. We want to dedicate today's win to all our Armed Forces who showed a lot of bravery," the skipper said.