ICC has instructed BCCI to abandon any plans, if existing, to skip handshakes with Pakistan players following their match at ACC Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup 2025, PTI reported.
India and Pakistan’s U-19 teams are set to face off in Dubai on December 14, with India’s U-19 squad featuring captain Ayush Mhatre and batsman Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
“The boys haven’t been told anything. But obviously BCCI has given explicit instructions to its manager Anand Datar. Now if Indian boys don’t shake hands with Pakistan team then match referee will have to be informed in advance. We know for a fact that ICC doesn’t want politics to take front seat when it comes to junior cricket. So it is a case of both bad optics and public sentiment,” a BCCI official told PTI on condition of anonymity.
IND-PAK “handshake saga”
The “handshake saga” at ICC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 in September centered on the Indian team’s deliberate decision to not engage in the traditional post-match handshakes with Pakistani players in all three of their encounters.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Indian government endorsed this stance as a gesture of solidarity with the victims and armed forces affected by a terror attack in Pahalgam in April 2025.
The controversy began in the group stage match, where the lack of interaction at the toss and after the game drew significant attention.
Tension escalated when Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lodged an official protest with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), labelling India’s actions as “unsporting” and against the spirit of cricket.
Pakistan captain Salman Agha highlighted that such a lack of sportsmanship set a negative precedent for the sport.
The situation led to a dispute involving the match referee, Andy Pycroft, whom Pakistan accused of advising their captain not to shake hands, leading to an hour-long delay in one match.
The controversy peaked after the final, which India won. The presentation ceremony was delayed, and the Indian team reportedly refused to accept the winner’s trophy from PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi, who was also the ACC chairperson, leading to him walking away with it.
This ongoing refusal to shake hands, which continued in the subsequent Rising Stars tournament, overshadowed the on-field cricket and highlighted the deep political tensions between the two nations that spill into sporting events where bilateral ties remain suspended.
