The Board of Management for Cricket in India (BCCI) has formally clarified its place on the handshake coverage for the upcoming India vs Pakistan ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 conflict. The much-anticipated match shall be performed in Colombo on October 5, however in contrast to previous encounters, there shall be no customary handshakes or joint workforce gestures.
This comes within the wake of the Asia Cup 2025 males’s ultimate, the place the Indian workforce not solely refused to shake fingers with their Pakistani counterparts but additionally declined to just accept the trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi. Following that precedent, the BCCI has prolonged the identical strategy to the ladies’s aspect.
No handshakes, no photograph Periods, no interplay
Talking on the matter, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia shunned giving a direct reply on handshakes however emphasised that “India’s diplomatic and sporting relationship with Pakistan stays unchanged and tense.”
Based on a number of experiences, the ladies’s workforce has been knowledgeable that:
- There shall be no handshake on the toss.
- No photograph session with the match referee will happen.
- No end-of-match handshakes shall be noticed.
Whereas MCC cricketing protocols shall be adopted, the absence of those conventional gestures is now official coverage for each males’s and girls’s groups.
The choice comes in opposition to the backdrop of the Pahalgam terror assault and Operation Sindoor, each of which have escalated tensions between the 2 international locations. The BCCI’s stance aligns with the Indian authorities’s diplomatic place, additional underlining how politics and cricket stay deeply intertwined within the India-Pakistan rivalry.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur has chosen to not wade into the controversy, stating that her workforce’s focus stays firmly on on-field efficiency. Nonetheless, the distinction with earlier encounters – such because the 2022 ODI World Cup in New Zealand, the place each groups confirmed heat and camaraderie – highlights how dramatically the environment has modified.
Additionally WATCH: Marufa Akter strikes with deadly inswinger to dismiss Omaima Sohail for a golden duck in PAK-W vs BAN-W, Women’s World Cup clash
India vs Pakistan: Cricketing world awaits a high-voltage contest
The affirmation of a no-handshake coverage provides one other layer of depth to what’s already one of the crucial high-voltage fixtures in world cricket. With politics shaping sporting protocol, the India vs Pakistan Ladies’s World Cup 2025 conflict is ready to be remembered as a lot for off-field symbolism as for on-field motion.
For followers worldwide, the India vs Pakistan contest in Colombo is not going to simply be a sport, will probably be a take a look at of cricketing focus within the shadow of strained bilateral ties.
Additionally READ: CWC 2025 – Fans react after Sophie Devine’s valiant ton undone by Ashleigh Gardner masterclass as Australia outclass New Zealand by 89 runs
This text was first printed at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times firm.
