Ricky Ponting bites back after being bombarded with hate and abuse as fake handshake quote spreads like wildfire

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting is in no mood to let some fake quote on the Indian cricket team tarnish his legacy.

India dominated arch-rivals Pakistan in their latest meeting in the Asia Cup 2025. Cricketing supremacy and a lesson in the game for Pakistan emphasised the gap in skill between the two teams. Unfortunately for Suryakumar Yadav and his men, the discussions after the match have not been around the quality of cricket they played in the fixture.

Ricky Ponting has had enough(AFP)

The 'no-handshake' stance from the Men in Blue has taken centre stage in all the coffee table discussions. It has spiralled into yet another social media storm, this time dragging the legendary Aussie captain, Ricky Ponting, into the crossfire, resulting from a fabricated quote that was claimed to be Ponting's after the post-match theatrics in the India vs Pakistan match.

Ponting denies any comments made on 'no-handshake' incident

Within hours of the game, viral posts claimed that Ponting had slammed India on Sky Sports, calling them 'the big losers' for refusing to shake hands. The claim was flawed at its very base. To start with, Sky is not the official broadcaster of the Asia Cup in the UK this year; the rights of the 2025 edition are held by TNT Sports with the coverage on discovery+, a detail confirmed by multiple broadcast guides.

Later, Ponting, currently the coach of the Punjab Kings, also cleared the air around the fake claim. On Tuesday, the Aussie legend posted on X: "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."

But as it often happens with this kind of rumours, the sham quote had already been churned through the outrage machine, screenshot by screenshot, platform by platform. Australian media also documented the fake claim and reiterated Ponting's denial. The incident somehow underscores how easily manufactured remarks can be laundered into news in the current digital era.

Meanwhile, India's decision not to shake hands with its opposition has itself become a diplomatic football. The air was already tense ahead of the game with calls of boycotting the match amidst the post-geopolitical tension atmosphere between the two nations. Following Suryakumar Yadav and his men's firm actions on the matter, there have been warnings from Pakistan about boycotting the tournament. The situation has boiled down to reports of India thinking of deciding to abandon the presentation ceremony, provided they win the tournament, given the presence of ACC president Mohsin Naqvi.