No change in India’s handshake policy, says BCCI secretary as they are set to play Pakistan in Colombo on Sunday.
Will India Women shake hands with Pakistan? ‘There’s no change in last week,’ says BCCI secretary.
An Indian team may decide not to shake hands with a Pakistani squad for the fourth Sunday in a row.
In the ongoing Women’s World Cup, India Women will play Pakistan Women in Colombo on October 5. Devajit Saikia, the secretary of the BCCI, mentioned on Wednesday that Harmanpreet Kaur’s team may learn from Suryakumar Yadav’s.
“Whether there will be handshakes, whether there will be hugging, I cannot assure you of anything [at] this moment,” Saikia told the BBC’s Stumped podcast. “I cannot forecast anything, but our relationship with that particular hostile country is the same. There is no change in the last week.”
At the recent Asia Cup, India’s men played Pakistan three times, but they declined to shake hands after the toss or after the match. Additionally, that tournament concluded in acrimony when India declined to take their Asia Cup trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, the Interior Minister of Pakistan, who also serves as the president of the ACC and the chairman of the PCB. For his part, Naqvi was unwilling to let anyone else get the award. The post-match ceremony was delayed by ninety minutes due to the standoff, and no trophy was eventually raised.
Saikia said the team would play to the “regulations of cricket”.
“India will play that match against Pakistan in Colombo, and all cricket protocols will be followed,” he said. “I can only assure that whatever is in the MCC regulations of cricket – that will be done.”