Was India at fault by not shaking hands with Pak players?

BCCI speaks up about India-Pak ‘handshake’ controversy

• A senior Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official stated that shaking hands with the opponent at the end of a cricket match is just a goodwill gesture while talking about the controversy regarding the Asia Cup 2025 match between India and Pakistan.
• India captain Surya Kumar Yadav did not exchange handshakes with his Pakistan counterpart Salman Ali Agha after the match.
• Even after India won by 7 wickets, Indian cricketers did not shake hands with the Pakistan players.
• The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was not happy with the incident and lodged a formal complaint with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
• The BCCI official said that what India did was not wrong at all.

What did the BCCI say about the controversy?

• The BCCI official stated that there is no law that forces players to exchange pleasantries at the end of a game.
• Given the rising political tensions between India and Pakistan, it makes no sense for Indian cricket players to shake hands or interact in any way with the Pakistan players.
• "Look, if you read the rule book, there is no specification about shaking hands with the opposition. It is a goodwill gesture and a sort of convention, not law, that is followed globally across the sporting spectrum," a senior BCCI official said to PTI while remaining anonymous.
• "If there is no law, then the Indian cricket team is not bound to shake hands with an opposition with whom there is a history of a strained relationship," he further stated.

Unhappy Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lodges formal complaint

• The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lodged a formal complaint with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
• The PCB also demanded the immediate removal of match referee Andy Pycroft from the ongoing competition, alleging that the match referee violated the ‘Code of Conduct’.
• "The PCB has lodged a complaint with the ICC regarding violations by the Match Referee of the ICC Code of Conduct and the MCC Laws pertaining to the Spirit of Cricket. The PCB has demanded the immediate removal of the Match Referee from the Asia Cup," PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi shared on X.

Editor’s Note

• With the ongoing controversy regarding the India-Pakistan ‘handshake’ row, Pakistan is unhappy and lodged a formal complaint with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). On the other hand, BCCI stated that exchanging of pleasantries after a cricket match is just a goodwill gesture, there is no law that forces players to shake hands. With the two camps polarized, it will be interesting to see the end of the controversy.