Viral video pulled of Australians mocking India’s refusal to shake hands

A promotional video by sports streaming service Kayo where Australian players mocked their Indian counterparts for not shaking hands was produced before India’s victory in a fiery fall-out to last month’s Asia Cup final against Pakistan.

Indian media have widely reported that the since-deleted video, filmed with satirical The Grade Cricketer, was produced in response to Indian players refusing to shake hands with their Pakistani opponents because of the political tensions between the two countries, in particular the aftermath of the terror attack in the northern Indian state of Pahalgam, and the subsequent strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

A screengrab from the promotional video for the Australia vs India series.

Ahead of India’s white-ball tour of Australia, which begins in Perth on Sunday, the video included players such as Australian women’s captain Alyssa Healy, Josh Hazlewood, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sophie Molineux and Grace Harris engaging in light-hearted banter over alternative ways for the Indians to shake hands.

But this masthead can reveal the video was filmed on either September 2 or 3 – almost four weeks before the Asia Cup final, on September 28. In the video, there is no direct reference to that match, nor India’s fourth Test against England in July.

Sources with knowledge of the video said it had been directed at the spat between India and England after a dramatic fourth Test at Manchester when England captain Ben Stokes was incensed after Indian batters Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar refused to shake hands and end what was to be a drawn Test early during the final drinks break on day five.

Ben Stokes (left) and Ravindra Jadeja exchange words in July.Credit: Getty Images

Jadeja and Sundar were nearing their centuries, and wanted to bat on. They did reach their centuries, but only after Stokes turned to his part-time bowlers, and England players vented their displeasure at the tourists.

In the video, host Sam Perry says: “We all know India is on its way. But we’ve identified one critical weakness. We know that they’re not huge fans of the traditional greeting [handshake], so we can throw them off before we’ve even bowled a ball.”

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The video was published this week. There was immediate backlash on social media from Indian fans, prompting Kayo Sports to quickly remove the video to avoid any further trouble ahead of India’s tour.

Cricket Australia said it did not wish to comment, directing questions to The Grade Cricketer which has partnered with Foxtel, the owner of Kayo Sports. A Foxtel spokeswoman did not wish to comment.

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