‘Nepotism product disrespects our flag’- Twitter bashes Jay Shah after he refuses to hold the national flag following India’s win over Pakistan

The riveting clash between India and Pakistan was thoroughly enjoyed by the fans last night as India emerged victorious by five wickets. Hardik Pandya turned out to be the ‘knight in shining armour’ for India as his brilliant all-round display set up the game nicely. He picked up 3 wickets for 25 runs in four overs and plundered 33 off 17 balls with the bat. The fans were in frenzy following India’s emphatic win in the ‘clash of the titans’.

Apart from the action on the field, there was one moment off the field that became the talking point after the game. The President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Jay Shah, who was also present inside stadium, refused to hold the national flag of India after India’s victory. Shah, who is also the secretary of the Indian Cricket Board, has been receiving a lot of flak on social media for this act.

A video of the incident has been doing the rounds on social media where Shah can be seen denying the offer of waving the national tricolour in celebration of India’s victory. The ‘questionable act’ of Jay Shah hasn’t gone down well with many fans who are seeing it as a disrespect of the national emblem.

However, the reason behind Shah’s refusal to hold the Indian flag is that he attended the match as the President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Member Board Representative of the ICC Cricket Committee. Hence, being the president of the administration of the Asia Cup tournament and as per ICC’s Code of Ethics, he is expected to show neutrality to all the stakeholders.

The video is further being used by the opposition leaders in India who are questioning the patriotism of Jay Shah, who’s also the son of India’s Home Minister, Amit Shah. Twitter was abuzz with people bashing Jay Shah for his alleged disrespect to the national flag. Here are some of the Tweets: