handshake

Who: India vs Pakistan
What: ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025
When: Sunday, October 5 at 09:30 GMT
Where: R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will have live build-up from 06:30 GMT ahead of our text commentary stream.

Cricket could take the backseat on yet another Sunday when India meet Pakistan in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 in Colombo amid lingering political tension between the South Asian neighbours.

The eagerly awaited group-stage fixture will likely be bookended by questions surrounding the now-infamous handshakes between both sides as the captains meet at the pre-match coin toss, and at the end of the match, when both squads traditionally step back on the field.

When India and Pakistan’s men’s teams met in the Asia Cup 2025, the Indian team and its captain did not shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts in all three fixtures at the tournament, leading to furore and backlash that marred the tournament.

A top official of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has not ruled out a “no handshake” policy for the Women’s World Cup fixture, as well.

“Whether there will be handshakes, whether there will be hugging, I cannot assure you of anything,” BCCI Secretary Devajit 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.”

‘Focus on the game’

While it may seem that cricket has been, once again, pushed into the background, both teams want to overlook the controversial build-up and focus on the game instead.

“Obviously, we know what’s happening around us, but we try to stay focused on the game because the World Cup is an event every player waits for,” Pakistan’s captain Fatima Sana said on Saturday.

Sana, whose team were comprehensively beaten by Bangladesh in their opening match, said Pakistan will “focus on the tournament and on what we have come here for” when asked to comment on the “outside noise”.

The last time India played Pakistan at the Women’s World Cup, the players’ off-field interactions left an indelible mark on the game and earned widespread praise from the fans.

At the 2022 tournament in New Zealand, Pakistan’s then-captain Bismah Maroof was surrounded by a group of Indian players as they cooed over her six-month-old daughter Fatima.

Jokes were shared, selfies were taken, and memories were made as players from the rival nations bonded outside their dressing rooms well after the match was over.

Sana, who was part of the Pakistan squad in 2022, was asked whether the players will miss the spirit and camaraderie from three years ago.

“We try to maintain healthy relationships with every team,” Sana replied.

“What happened with Bismah’s daughter, when everyone mingled and enjoyed together – as players, we all like such moments, but the main thing is to stay focused [on the game].”

When the same question was posed to India’s bowling coach Aavishankar Salvi, the journalist was notified that India will not answer it.

However, Salvi did say that India – who beat Sri Lanka in their opening game by 59 runs – will also “focus on the cricket” on Sunday.

#Throwback to this beautiful moment from the 2022 World Cup involving Bismah Maroof’s daughter and Indian girls ❤️#CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/PuxFEC5O1Y

— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) April 25, 2024

‘The world will be watching’

“We want our girls to take it just as a game because the World Cup is a long campaign and there will be a lot of games coming our way,” he said.

“When you enter a big tournament, the area of focus is only cricket, and it’s good to have the players into a good [head] space.”

The fixture is expected to draw huge viewing figures and organisers will expect a sizeable crowd at the ground, as well.

Sana, who also led Pakistan in their match against India in the T20 World Cup 2024, admitted such factors make it a high-pressure fixture and one that “the whole world will be watching”.

“There is pressure but the main thing is how we handle it. We’ll try to focus on our game, execute our plans, and play the way we’ve prepared.”

What happened in the last India vs Pakistan women’s cricket match?

The teams last met in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 in Dubai, where India emerged victorious by six wickets.

When was the last time Pakistan beat India in women’s cricket?

Pakistan have only beaten India on three occasions, the last of which came on October 7 at the T20 Women’s Asia Cup 2022. Nida Dar’s all-round performance sealed Pakistan’s 13-run win in Bangladesh.

Will it rain in Colombo during the India vs Pakistan match?

Rain is expected in the early hours of Sunday in Khettarama, the neighbourhood that houses the R Premadasa Stadium in Sri Lanka’s capital.

The weather will remain cloudy throughout the day, with light showers expected to return later in the evening, as well. This could lead to delays or disruption of play.

There was plenty of rainfall on Saturday before Sri Lanka’s match against Australia at the same venue. The persistent rain led to the match being called off without any play.

India vs Pakistan: Head-to-head in women’s ODIs

India hold an 11-0 lead over their neighbours in women’s ODIs. All of India’s wins have come with comfortable margins, including the 107-run victory at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 in New Zealand.

Players to watch: India

• Smriti Mandhana: Widely regarded as the best limited-over batters in present-day women’s cricket, Mandhana has swept most women’s ODI records in the past two years. She is the top-ranked ODI batter by a distance and was the leading run-scorer in the format in 2024. The Indian vice-captain has scored four ODI centuries in 2025, the most by any player in the current year.
• Deepti Sharma: The all-rounder poses an equal threat with bat and ball, and has performed well against Pakistan in previous encounters. Sharma’s right-arm off-break bowling will be a big threat for Pakistan’s batters. She took three wickets and scored 54 runs in India’s World Cup opening win against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

Players to watch: Pakistan

• Sidra Amin: The veteran batter recently became the top ODI century-maker for her country with her sixth ton in the series against South Africa. She comes into the crucial match with good run-scoring form and is regarded as the mainstay of Pakistan’s batting attack against a strong Indian bowling line-up.
• Nashra Sandhu: The unassuming slow left-arm bowler has been Pakistan’s go-to spin option in recent years and is third on the list of top ODI wicket-takers for her country. Sandhu has taken 16 wickets in Pakistan’s nine ODIs in 2025, including six in a match against South Africa on September 22.

Form guide: India

India entered the World Cup with a home series loss and an away series win in the bag. They were tested by Sri Lanka in the tournament’s opening game, but recovered well to begin their World Cup campaign with a win.

Last five ODIs (latest result first): W L W L W L

Form guide: Pakistan

Pakistan’s form has dipped after their five-match unbeaten run at home in the World Cup qualifiers, where they beat Bangladesh, Thailand and the West Indies to book a place in this tournament. Sana’s team lost a home ODI series to South Africa and then suffered a dramatic batting collapse in their opening World Cup game against Bangladesh.

Last five ODIs (latest result first): L W L L W

Team news: India

India are expected to name an unchanged XI for their second match of the tournament.

Predicted XI: Pratika Rawal, Smriti Mandhana, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Kranti Goud, Shree Charani.

Team news: Pakistan

Pakistan are likely to field the same XI that lost to Bangladesh, but there could be a case for replacing Natalia Pervaiz with in-form all-rounder Aroob Shah.

Predicted XI: Muneeba Ali, Omaima Sohail, Sidra Amin, Rameen Shamim, Aliya Riaz, Sidra Nawaz (wicketkeeper), Fatima Sana (captain), Natalia Pervaiz, Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal.

Pakistan agrees to have Andy Pycroft as a cricket match referee after he apologises for his role in a handshake row against India.

Pakistan’s cricket match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Asia Cup was delayed by an hour amid uncertainty about the fixture as Pakistani officials deliberated pulling out of the tournament as a mark of protest.

The match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium began at 7:30pm local time (15:30 GMT) on Wednesday, as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) reached an agreement on Andy Pycroft’s assignment as match referee following his role in the “no handshake” row involving India three days earlier.

“The ICC’s match referee, Andy Pycroft, has apologised to the manager and captain of the Pakistan cricket team,” the PCB said in a statement released minutes before the toss for the Pakistan-UAE fixture.

“Andy Pycroft termed the September 14 incident a result of miscommunication.”

The PCB also said that the ICC “expressed its willingness to conduct an inquiry into the code of conduct violation that occurred during the September 14 match”, referring to Pycroft’s request to Pakistan and India captains to avoid the customary handshake at the toss, which the PCB alleges contravened the laws of the game.

Pycroft was the key match official in the crucial and politically charged match between the South Asian archrivals on Sunday, and had allegedly asked Pakistan’s captain Salman Agha and his Indian counterpart Suryakumar Yadav to not partake in the customary captains’ handshake at the toss.

Later, once Yadav hit the winning runs for India, he walked off the field along with his batting partner Shivam Dube without shaking the opposition’s hands – a tradition in cricket – in a move that went uncontested by the match officials.

Additionally, the Indian players and staff did not shake hands with the Pakistani contingent and instead shut the door of their dressing room as the Pakistanis looked on.

The move, and Pycroft’s decision not to reprimand the Indian team, infuriated the PCB, which lodged an immediate complaint with the tournament’s organisers.

The PCB also wrote to the ICC on Monday, asking for Pycroft’s removal as match referee for all of Pakistan’s remaining fixtures due to his “failure to discharge his duties”, according to a PCB official who spoke to Al Jazeera on the condition of anonymity.

The deadlock, resulting from the ICC’s apparent refusal to remove Pycroft, lasted up until an hour prior to the official match start time.

Later, as Pycroft conducted the toss in Dubai, the PCB released a video of a meeting where ICC General Manager of Cricket Wasim Khan is seen mediating a settlement between Pycroft and the Pakistan team – represented by manager Naveed Akram Cheema, captain Agha, and head coach Mike Hesson.

Hours earlier, the match’s fate was left in limbo as the Pakistani squad did not board the bus for the venue at its scheduled departure time, indicating a logistical logjam between the PCB and the ICC.

However, once both parties had reached an agreement, the team departed for the stadium. But the fate of the match became certain five minutes before the toss with the PCB’s statement.

Meanwhile, the UAE squad awaited Pakistan’s arrival at the stadium under a cloud of uncertainty.

The Group A fixture acts as a knockout game for both teams, with the winner progressing to the Super Four stage of the eight-nation tournament.

India have already qualified for the next stage on the back of their wins against the UAE and Pakistan.

Dubai, UAE – The wide-ranging ramifications of an ongoing political standoff between India and Pakistan have led to a controversial conclusion of the archrivals’ cricket match at the Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai, where India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav confirmed that his squad opted against shaking hands with their opponents as a mark of protest.

When Sunday’s Group A fixture between the South Asian archrivals was confirmed after long deliberations from the Indian government, fans and experts had hoped that the on-field action could help cool the off-field heat.

Yadav, though, crushed all expectations by saying his team’s thumping seven-wicket win in the T20 match was a “perfect reply” to Pakistan in the wake of the intense four-day cross-border conflict that brought both countries to the brink of an all-out war in May.

“Our [Indian] government and the BCCI [Board of Control for Cricket in India] were aligned on the decision to play this match. We came here just to play the match and gave them [Pakistan] a perfect reply,” Yadav told the media shortly after the match.

What happened at the end of the India vs Pakistan match?

Yadav, who hit the winning runs for India, walked off the field alongside his batting partner, Shivam Dube, without approaching the Pakistani captain and team for the traditional post-match handshakes.

Pakistan’s players trudged off in a group and waited for the Indian squad and support staff to come out and shake hands, as is the norm at the end of cricket matches.

However, the Indian contingent only shook hands with each other before walking into their dressing room and shutting the door as the waiting Pakistan players looked on.

No handshakes between the teams. Salman Agha looked to lead Pakistan over to the India dressing room, but nothing doing. They all headed straight in #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/0BbJtYdkAf

— Paul Radley (@PaulRadley) September 14, 2025

Why did Indian team refuse to shake hands with Pakistani players?

The Indian captain was asked to clarify his team’s actions and whether they were in contradiction with the spirit of the sport.

“A few things in life are above sportsman’s spirit,” the 35-year-old swiftly responded.

“We stand with all the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and with their families, and dedicate this win to our brave armed forces who took part in Operation Sindoor.”

Yadav was referring to the Indian armed forces’ multiple missile attacks on six locations inside Pakistan.

India said the missiles were in response to the April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir in Pahalgam, in which 26 men were killed. An armed group called The Resistance Front (TRF), which demands independence for Kashmir, claimed responsibility for the attack, but India had alleged Pakistani involvement.

Two days later, Pakistan responded to the missile strikes by attacking military installations across its frontier with India and Indian-administered Kashmir, striking at least four facilities.

The conflict ended four days later, thanks to an internationally-brokered ceasefire.

While the exchange of aerial fire came to a halt, the diplomatic ties between the neighbours remained suspended, and the political tension spilled over into cricket when the fixture between India and Pakistan was announced by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

Did India break any rules by not shaking hands?

As a result, the match was played under a highly charged political climate, and when both captains did not indulge in the customary handshake at the pre-match toss, the focus swiftly shifted to the interactions between the teams.

However, Al Jazeera has learned that the match referee, Andy Pycroft, had asked Yadav and his counterpart, Agha, to skip the pre-toss ritual.

“The match referee requested both captains to not shake hands at the toss,” an official of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), requesting anonymity, told Al Jazeera after the match.

Match officials also granted India permission to skip the post-match handshakes with Pakistan, but did not inform Agha or his team, according to the source.

This resulted in an awkward-looking post-match scenario, where the Pakistani players followed Yadav off the pitch and waited for the Indians to emerge, only to watch them shut the dressing room door.

How did Pakistan respond?

Pakistan’s manager Naveed Akram Cheema lodged a protest against the Indian cricket team’s actions with Pycroft, who is an International Cricket Council (ICC) accredited match referee.

“The umpires had allowed the Indians to walk off the field without shaking hands for which the match referee apologised after the protest of our team manager,” the official said.

Additionally, Pakistan captain Agha did not speak at the post-match captain’s chat with the host broadcaster in a mark of protest.

Mike Hesson, Pakistan’s head coach, confirmed that Agha’s refusal to show up for the talk and the media briefing was a “follow-on effect” of the Indian team’s actions.

“We were ready to shake hands at the end of the game, but our opposition did not do that,” Hesson said.

“We sort of went over there to shake hands, and they had already gone into the changing room.”

Why are handshakes important in cricket, and what’s the protocol?

As per the norm in cricket, the two on-field players of the team batting second shake hands with the fielding team and the umpires before walking off.

And in what is now a common practice in all international cricket matches, the batting team then enters the ground to shake hands with their opponents.

It offers both sides to end the match on a friendly note and exchange words of encouragement.

In the same manner, both teams’ captains shake hands before the toss, which takes place 30 minutes before the start of play.

The toss is conducted by the match referee on the pitch and usually broadcast live.

Both captains and the match referee can also indulge in a pre-match chat regarding team lineups or any other matters of mutual interest for both teams.

The match referee can also meet a captain, head coach or manager of either team before the match.

What have the tournament officials said about the incident?

The move was lamented by the ACC chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the PCB.

“Utterly disappointing to witness the lack of sportsmanship today,” Naqvi said in a post on X.

“Dragging politics into the game goes against the very spirit of sports.”

Utterly disappointing to witness the lack of sportsmanship today. Dragging politics into the game goes against the very spirit of sports. Lets hope future victories are celebrated by all teams with grace

— Mohsin Naqvi (@MohsinnaqviC42) September 14, 2025

Al Jazeera has reached out to the ACC for a comment on the revelation that both captains were asked not to shake hands at the toss.

The ACC has not yet responded to the request.

Pakistan and India are likely to meet again in the Asia Cup if both teams qualify for the Super Four stage.

India have all but qualified after two wins in two games, while Pakistan face the UAE in a must-win fixture on Wednesday.

Should both teams win their respective games, their Super Fours match will take place on Sunday in Dubai.

THIS is the awkward moment UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov refused to shake the hand of CBS Sports presenter Kate Abdo.

Abdo was working for the broadcaster alongside the terrible trio of Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards for the Champions League final in Munich.

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The match ended in a record-breaking defeat as Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Inter Milan 5-0.

The quartet was joined by special guests Khabib Nurmagomedov, and streamer IShowSpeed immediately after the final whistle.

Nurmagomedov embraced each member of the crew before Abdo, 43, held out her hand in a greeting.

However, the unbeaten UFC star declined the offer by holding his hand on his chest instead, with Abdo quickly reclining it and offering an apology as she welcomed him to the show.

The reason for this is due to the 36-year-old’s religious beliefs as a devout Sunni Muslim.

In Islam, it is a forbidden to touch a member of the opposite sex that they are not related to.

A similar incident occurred back in 2020 with fellow MMA fighter Cynthia Calvillo, who revealed that Nurmagomedov refused to directly train with her.

She explained to theScore: “It’s a little bit weird because of their religion… they won’t train with women.

BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK

“(Khabib) is still showing technique and stuff like that. So I still get to watch it.

“But it doesn’t bother me … because they’re not really being directly rude to me.”

Fans on social media praised Abdo’s response to the awkward exchange with the Dagestani native.

One user said: “Mad respect to Kate for understanding afterwards and issuing an apology.”

Another said: “Massive respect to Kate for understanding Khabib’s decision and not making a fuss of it in front of other pundits.”

A third added: “Love how Khabib respectfully declined Kate’s handshake and she respected his approach. Love that from both of them.”

Once that hurdle was cleared, Abdo asked the retired UFC fighter who he was supporting tonight, revealing he was there in support of PSG – despite him previously describing himself as a Real Madrid fan.

In another crossover that nobody would have had on their Champions League bingo card, IShowSpeed was playfully confronted by Nurmagomedov about them possibly having a race or fight.

Carragher, who hilariously tried resorting to cheating when he lost a race against Speed – real name Darren Hawkins – asked Nurmagomedov: “Do you think you could beat Speed in a fight or a race?”

Nurmagomedov said he would be humble and conceded that Speed had the better of him in running, but declared he could easily outdo him in football IQ, before joking: “Don’t forget, between us there is nobody right now.”

Abdo then suggested that Richards, ever the brunt of a few jokes on the show, was the “arm wrestling champion” of CBS.

However, before the presenter – who married boxer Malik Scott last year – could finish her sentence, the ex-England international said: “No thank you.”

Before the match itself, Abdo was subbed out of presenting duties by colleague Anita Nneka Jones, joking she had “other friends waiting for me tonight”.

As Henry, Richards and Carragher groaned, Abdo pointed at Jones and added: “Look who’s coming!”

Carra shouted “Anita!” before screaming as footage showed Abdo’s pals David Beckham and Tom Cruise hanging out the Allianz Arena.

Abdo then waved as she walked off set, adding: “Bye, bye, bye.”

Richards asked “Is it a substitution then?” – with Abdo pausing.

The former Manchester City star then guffawed as Peter Schmeichel held the fourth official’s board to announce the substitution.

Richards turned to Jones and bellowed: “Finally some real funny in the studio.”