Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi reacted to the Indian team’s decision to ban the Pakistani team from shaking hands after the match and said that the Pakistan Cricket Board has no plans to do the same if the current stance of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) continues. Since September, the Indian men’s and women’s cricket teams have stopped shaking hands after matches with the Pakistani cricket team to pay tribute to the victims of the attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir in April.
It started with the Men’s Asia Cup in September, where the Suryakumar Yadav-led India T20 team decided not to follow the usual tradition of shaking hands when taking the field. Since then, the trend has continued with the India women’s team during the ODI World Cup, the India Under-19 men’s team during the Asia Cup last month and the Rising Stars Asia Cup in Doha last week.
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Speaking to the media, Naqvi reiterated that Pakistan will hold talks with India only on an equal footing. Naqvi said that PCB will not insist on any symbolic gesture. Naqvi reiterated that Pakistan has always believed that cricket should be kept separate from any political matters. Whatever decision has been taken by the Government of India, the Board will follow it.
Naqvi said at a press conference in Lahore, “Our belief remains the same even today and believe me, the Prime Minister himself has told me twice that we should not let politics come into all this. Our stand from day one has been that cricket and politics should remain separate. That day, Sarfaraz would have told you what kind of attitude was shown and how it was.”
Naqvi said, “If they do not want to join hands, we also do not have much desire to do so. Whatever happens, it will be on an equal footing with India. And you will see, this approach will continue. It is not possible for them to do one thing and for us to step back – it will not happen at all.”
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These comments come after comments made by Pakistan U19 coach Sarfaraz Ahmed, who recently termed India’s actions in the Asia Cup final match as “unsportsmanlike”. It was later reported that the PCB chief was considering involving the ICC in this particular incident.
Ahead of the Asia Cup in the UAE, it was reported that the ICC had requested the BCCI to reconsider the no-handshake policy, especially at the junior level, reminding that politics should not enter into junior-level cricket. Of course, it is ultimately up to the Indian cricket board to make any changes to its no-handshake policy as they did not shake hands with opposition players in the group stage and in the final against Pakistan.
