The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly instructed the women's cricketers not to shake hands with the Pakistani cricketers in the upcoming Women's World Cup 2025 match on October 5 in Colombo. The reported move comes after the men's team refused to do the same during the recent Asia Cup 2025 matches against Pakistan.
Suryakumar Yadav-led India clashed against Salman Agha-led Pakistan on three occasions in the Asia Cup and did not shake hands on any of those occasions. The row intensified following the Group stage match as Agha skipped the post-game presentation, with Pakistan coach Mike Hesson also condemning India's move. Agha had also slammed India's decision to not shake hands, alleging them of 'disrespecting cricket'.
According to the sources of The Indian Express, below is the statement:
"The team won’t be shaking hands with the Pakistan team during the World Cup. The team has been informed by the BCCI bosses about this. The Indian board will stand by its players."
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India beat Sri Lanka convincingly to open their World Cup campaign
Meanwhile, India, led by Harmanpreet Kaur brushed aside Sri Lanka convincingly by 59 runs in a rain-marred tournament-opener in Guwahati. Although the hosts had slid to 124/6 at one stage, Amanjot Kaur and Deepti Sharma struck half-centuries and shared a partnership of 103, lifting India to 269/8 in 47 overs.
With the ball, Deepti Sharma shared with three scalps, while Sneh Rana and Shree Charani took two wickets each to bowl Sri Lanka out for 211. Pakistan will open their campaign against Bangladesh on October 2, Thursday. Nevertheless, they will face a daunting challenge against India and have lost all 11 ODIs against them.
