Handshake row: BCCI rules out policy shift ahead of Pak-India women's clash

KARACHI: India will maintain its current policy on cricketing relations with Pakistan in their upcoming clash in the ICC Women's World Cup 2025, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Devajit Saikia said on Wednesday.

In an interview with BBC, BCCI Secretary Saikia said that there was no assurance that Indian players will offer the customary handshake courtesy to Pakistan players during their upcoming game in Colombo on October 5.

"I cannot forecast anything, but our relationship with that country (Pakistan) is the same, there is no change in the last week," he said.

"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 [Marylebone Cricket Club] regulations of cricket, that will be done. Whether there will be handshakes, whether there will be hugging, I cannot assure you of anything at this moment," Saikia added.

His comments come in the backdrop of India's controversial and widely condemned conduct during the recently concluded Asia Cup, where the men's team refused to shake hands with Pakistan players, and made political statements during post-match ceremonies and press conferences.

India also refused to collect the winners' trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President Mohsin Naqvi, who also serves as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

The BCCI secretary's remarks came soon after Indian sports journalist Boria Majumdar suggested in a social media post that the upcoming Women's World Cup fixture would carry the same off-field tensions witnessed during the recent Asia Cup, where India's men's team drew criticism for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

"The India-Pakistan game in Colombo will not be another cricket match. It will be a continuation of the Asia Cup, and the only thing that changes is the gender," Majumdar wrote in a post on X, hinting at possible refusal of handshakes, heightened drama, and political undertones.

"There will be no handshakes, lots of off-field drama and heightened stakes," the Indian journalist claimed.

Meanwhile, a source in the PCB told Geo News that the message from the PCB chairman to the women's team remained the same as the one given to the men's.

Ahead of the Asia Cup final, Naqvi had told the men's team to express themselves freely and leave the rest to him, the source added.