Asia Cup 2025: No, Ricky Ponting Did Not Slam India Over Pak Handshake Row

A fake quote is being attributed to former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, falsely claiming he criticised the Indian men's cricket team for not shaking hands with Pakistan after their Asia Cup T20 match on September 14.

India beat Pakistan by seven wickets in their Asia Cup Group A clash, their first meeting since the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. The match went ahead despite boycott calls and criticism of the BCCI. After the match, Indian players skipped handshakes with Pakistan, leading the Pakistan Cricket Borad to reportedly complain to the ICC, alleging match referee Andy Pycroft had told captains not to shake hands at the toss.

The Claim: Ponting Slams Indian players for handshake row calling India a "perpetual sore loser"

The viral quote is being shared on Facebook with the caption, "Ricky Ponting on Sky Sports: This match will be remembered forever with India as the big loser. The way the Pakistani team wanted to shake hands at the end has immortalised them as champions of the gentleman's game with India as the perpetual sore loser."

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What We Found:

1) Ponting Denies Fake Quote:

Ponting took to X on September 16, denying the fake quote stating, "I am aware of certain comments being attributed to me on social media. Please know that I categorically did not make those statements and indeed have made no public comment about the Asia Cup at all."

2) No Sky Sports report quoting Ponting about India-Pakistan match

Additionally, we also checked Sky Sports and did not find any report that quoted Ponting commenting on the India–Pakistan match. BOOM has previously fact-checked fake quotes being attributed to Ponting.