Ricky Ponting has not criticised India on the handshake controversy with Pakistan in Asia Cup 2025

Ricky Ponting never made such a statement. Ponting himself denied the claim on his social media accounts.

India defeated Pakistan by seven wickets in the Asia Cup, sparking a controversy by skipping the usual handshake amid political tensions. Shahid Afridi, former Pakistan cricket captain, criticised the Indian cricket team for avoiding post-match handshakes following their victory in the Asia Cup Group A match at Dubai International Stadium on September 14, 2025. India skipper Suryakumar Yadav, speaking at the press conference after the match, stated that India’s refusal to shake hands with their Pakistani opponents was a decision taken in alignment with the Indian government as a form of protest.

Against this backdrop, an alleged comment by Australian former cricketer Ricky Ponting criticising Indian teams’ conduct has gone viral on social media.

The post reads as, “Ricky Ponting Supports Pakistan- Ponting On SkySports: 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”.

 Let’s check the truth

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Fact Check- 

We started our investigation by running a keyword search on Google but yielded no credible news reports featuring the viral remarks by Ponting. Sky Sports Crickets’ official YouTube and social media handles have not carried any such interview or comment.

Moving forward, we found that former Australian captain has issued a statement after being falsely accused of commenting on Team India’s handshake snub against Pakistan. We came across a Tweet by Ricky Ponting from September 16 clearly 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.”

The same post he has shared on Instagram as well. We also found a report published in News.com.au on 16 September, which said that the statement attributed to Ponting was fake.

Conclusion- 

Fact Crescendo found that the claim made along with the post to be False. Ricky Ponting never made such a statement. Ponting himself denied the claim on his social media accounts.