The U-19 Asia Cup will begin on Friday, December 12 and all eyes will be on the Indian team as they chase the title. India, who have some serious firepower in the form of Ayush Mhatre and the dashing Vaibhav Suryavanshi, start as tournament favorites and are grouped alongside Pakistan, UAE and Malaysia in the tournament.
India and Pakistan will lock horns on December 14 and once again, everyone will be anxiously watching to see if the Indian side will continue their no-handshake policy with their arch-rivals. In the Senior Asian Cup, Women’s World Cup and Rising Stars Asian Cup, Indian teams refused to shake hands with Pakistani players as a show of solidarity with the Indian Army and the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.
So what is the ICC’s stance on the upcoming U-19 Asia Cup? According to a PTI report, the cricket governing body is believed to want to keep politics out of the tournament and expects the players to follow the normal protocol of sportsmanship.
A BCCI official told PTI that the players have not said anything yet, but BCCI would tell manager Anand Datar how to proceed with things. The official also said that if the Indian players decide not to shake hands with Pakistan, it will be communicated to the match referee in advance.
“The boys have not been told anything. However, the BCCI has apparently given express instructions to their manager Anand Datar. If the Indian boys do not shake hands with the Pakistan team, the umpire will have to be informed in advance.”
“Obviously we know that the ICC doesn’t want politics to come to the fore when it comes to junior cricket. So it’s a case of both bad optics and public sentiment,” a BCCI official with knowledge of the matter told PTI on condition of anonymity.
India and Pakistan are expected to meet more than once in the tournament as they are expected to advance to the semi-finals from their pool.
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Published on:
December 11, 2025
