Maxwell claims snubbing Sarfraz's handshake was a 'genuine oversight'
When Cricket Australia (CA) handed out bans to their star players — Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft — the idea was to cut out the toxic culture and general arrogance in the dressing room.
The Aussies "play hard but fair", the cricket world was told and assured that measures will be taken to ensure that antics contrary to the spirit of the game are not repeated. On Sunday, however, it appeared that Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell may not have received the memo.
After being beaten fair and square in the Tri-nations final, Maxwell appeared to ignore Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed's offer for a customary end-of-the-game handshake.
Australia's Glenn Maxwell fails to shake hands with #Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed after #T20TriSeries final defeat See the video below & make your own judgment. #PAKvAUS pic.twitter.com/QgfcL8oBxk
— Rameez R. Merchant (@rameezgemini) July 8, 2018
The snub was caught on camera and, as expected, it created a massive backlash on social media with Pakistani fans berating the Aussie for his uncalled-for gesture (or lack thereof).
Terrible behaviour!
— Emmad Hameed (@Emmad81) July 8, 2018
How will @CricketAus react...will they react?
Is this the post #Sandpaper controversy Australia? 🤔#GlennMaxwell #PAKvAUS https://t.co/9TslBdq3px
It seems Australia’s promise to play respectful cricket was only a lip-service. Maxwell refusing to shake hands with Sarfraz was worse than sledging. They say in Punjabi: Baandar hovay te chaal na maare. #PakvAus
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) July 8, 2018
The reaction was strong enough that Maxwell had to take notice.
In a tweet, Maxwell said that the incident "appears unsportsmanlike... but it was a genuine oversight" and that "I am currently looking for Sarfraz in the hotel to shake his hand".
— Glenn Maxwell (@Gmaxi_32) July 9, 2018