The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Monday, broke the silence as the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is reportedly mulling disciplinary action against the Indian team after their non-handshake stance in the Asia Cup 2025 Group A match against Pakistan on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium. ACC, however, has yet to make an official statement on the incident.
After Sunday's match, which the defending champions won by seven wickets, the Indian players refused to shake hands with the Pakistanis and headed straight to the dressing room, leaving Pakistan’s head coach Mike Hesson enraged.
According to a report in CricketPakistan.com, the controversy drew the attention of the ACC, which is "weighing possible disciplinary action against the Indian team." The report also added that the final decision will be taken after reviewing all related clips pertaining to the incident, with fines on Indian players being a likely outcome.
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Amid the wait for an official statement from the ACC, a senior BCCI official told PTI on condition of anonymity that since the rule book makes no mention of handshakes, the customary gesture is a matter of goodwill, not law. This clearly means that India cannot be compelled to extend it to Pakistan, given the strained relations.
{{/usCountry}}Amid the wait for an official statement from the ACC, a senior BCCI official told PTI on condition of anonymity that since the rule book makes no mention of handshakes, the customary gesture is a matter of goodwill, not law. This clearly means that India cannot be compelled to extend it to Pakistan, given the strained relations.
{{/usCountry}}"Look, if you read the rule book, there is no specification about shaking hands with the opposition. It is a goodwill gesture and a sort of convention not law that is followed globally across the sporting spectrum," a senior BCCI official said.
"If there is no law, then the Indian cricket team is not bound to shake hands with an opposition with whom there is a history of strained relationship," he added.
ICC’s Preamble in the T20I Playing Conditions clearly states the “Spirit of Cricket,” urging teams to congratulate the opposition at the end of a match and to thank officials. However, the wording does not explicitly mandate a handshake. Article 2.1.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct says “conduct contrary to the spirit of the game” as a Level 1 offence, but given that “congratulate” is not clearly defined as a handshake, India’s decision to skip post-match handshakes may not technically constitute a breach of ICC rules.
The report further said that India will maintain the no-handshake stance throughout the course of the Asia Cup 2025, where they could possibly face each other two more times, including the final on September 28. The more recent potential face-off could be next Sunday at the same venue in the Super Four stage.