The rivalry between India and Pakistan in U-19 Asia Cup extended beyond the boundary ropes on Sunday at the ICC Cricket Academy in Dubai, as the U-19 Asia Cup clash saw the Indian team maintaining its unique and controversial ‘no-handshake’ policy against their arch-rivals.
This stance, which was first adopted during a senior Asia Cup match in September as a mark of solidarity with the Indian Army, highlighted a clash between sports protocol and political sentiment.
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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) effectively ignored a request from the International Cricket Council (ICC), which was reportedly keen on keeping politics out of junior-level cricket, and to follow the same in U-19 Asia Cup.
Although the ICC left the final decision to the BCCI, requiring only a prior notification to the match referee, the continued policy became the biggest talking point of the highly-anticipated Group A fixture.
The adherence to the policy was noticeable right from the toss. India captain Ayush Mhatre did not offer a handshake to his Pakistani counterpart, Farhan Yousuf, after the coin flip. Following Yousuf’s decision to field first, the two skippers maintained a marked distance, with Yousuf handing over the microphone and walking straight back to the dugout without eye contact.
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On the field, the young Indian side delivered a dominant performance to back up their off-field stance. After being put in to bat, India set a challenging total of 240. In response, Pakistan’s chase faltered, and they were eventually bowled out for 150 in 41.2 overs, handing India a decisive 90-run victory.
The match concluded in the same spirit as it began: without the post-game interaction between the two teams. While the Indian players shook hands with the umpires, they simply walked off the field without acknowledging their Pakistani opponents.
Both teams had entered the U-19 Asia Cup contest on a strong note, with India thrashing the UAE by 234 runs—thanks to a massive 171-run knock by Vaibhav Suryavanshi—and Pakistan registering a 297-run win over Malaysia.