Maxwell sorry after missing handshake in T20 final

HARARE: Glenn Maxwell, the Australia allrounder, has admitted his apparent snub to Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed following Pakistan’s victory in the triangular series final in Harare appeared to be an “unsportsmanlike” gesture, though he maintained it was a “genuine oversight”.

Television cameras captured the moments after Pakistan secured their six-wicket victory, which showed Maxwell congratulating Shoaib Malik then also shaking hands with Jhye Richardson and the umpires but seemingly ignoring the outstretched hand of Sarfraz on his right.

After numerous media reports froze the moment in time and questioned Maxwell’s intentions, the Victorian delivered his version of events on Twitter. It is believed that Maxwell and Sarfraz were involved in numerous verbal exchanges during the course of Pakistan’s victory, namely when the captain was batting during a successful chase.

More contentiously, there is also the suggestion that the pair exchanged words after the game had been completed and Sarfraz ran onto the field, in advance of his team-mates, to celebrate with the unbeaten batsmen.

Since the Newlands ball-tampering scandal in March, the image and conduct of the Australian team has been a source of enormous debate both within Australia and around the world.