With three Sundays and three India-Pakistan matches scheduled in the Asia Cup 2025, political drama writ large has been unfolding. Post-final victory, the Indian team refused not only to shake hands with the Pakistan team but also to accept the trophy from the ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi (who is also a Pakistani minister). A precedent has thus been set by Indian men’s team captain Suryakumar Yadav, and now it’s up to Indian women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur to bear the brunt when the Women’s World Cup 2025 pits against the team from across the border.
The BCCI secretary, Devajit Saikia, was asked if the Indian women’s team would take the same stance against Pakistan in the ODI World Cup as the men’s side. Saikia refused to respond in a simple “yes or no” fashion but stated that India’s relationship with Pakistan has not changed in the last week.
“I cannot forecast anything, but our relationship with that particular hostile country is the same; there is no change in the last week,” Saikia told BBC Stumped.
“India will play that match against Pakistan in Colombo, and all cricket protocols will be followed. I can only assure that whatever is in the MCC regulations of cricket, that will be done. Whether there would have been handshakes, hugging, I cannot assure you with any certainty at this moment,” he further said.
Considering the current political relations between the two countries, it might be safe to say that no handshakes will be exchanged between the two teams during the Women’s ODI World Cup.
“The BCCI is aligned with the government, and there will be no customary handshake at the toss, no photo-shoot with the match referee, and no end-of-game handshakes. The policy followed by the men will also be implemented by the women,” an anonymous BCCI source told PTI.
India and Pakistan are scheduled to go against each other on 5 October, 2023, in Colombo at the Women’s ODI World Cup.
