India U19 captain Ayush Mhatre snubbed a handshake with Pakistan's Farhan Yousaf during the toss of their ACC U19 Asia Cup 2025 Group A match in Dubai, upholding BCCI's no-handshake policy despite ICC's urging to maintain cricket's spirit.
Rain delayed the toss by nearly 30 minutes, reducing the game to 49 overs, yet the symbolic gesture persisted as a mark of solidarity with the Indian Army and Pahalgam terror attack victims. This incident underscores how political tensions have normalized the practice in India-Pakistan cricket encounters.
The no-handshake norm traces back to the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing 26, which India linked to Pakistan-backed groups, prompting missile strikes and retaliation.
BCCI instructed teams to boycott handshakes starting with the Men's Asia Cup 2025 in September, where India skipped them in all three matches against Pakistan, including the final, leading to PCB complaints and referee interventions. Captain Suryakumar Yadav cited national solidarity, bypassing post-match courtesies even after victories.
India's senior men's team set the precedent in Asia Cup 2025, followed by the women's team in the ODI World Cup and Rising Stars Asia Cup T20. In the U19 Asia Cup, ICC explicitly requested BCCI to allow handshakes to keep politics out of junior cricket, but officials confirmed explicit instructions to manager Anand Datar to proceed without them.
India make decent start
Despite losing Vaibhav Suryavanshi early, India U19 are placed decently at 169 for 4 after 31 overs. India captain Ayush Mhatre scored a blisterin 38 off 25 deliveries, while Aaron Geore so far has been the star batter, scoring an unbeaten 85 till the time of publication.
