KARACHI: Concerns have emerged that India could once again politicise cricket, this time at the ICC Women’s World Cup, where arch-rivals Pakistan and India are set to face off on October 5 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Indian sports journalist Boria Majumdar suggested in a social media post that the upcoming women’s fixture would carry the same off-field tensions witnessed during the recent Asia Cup, where India’s men’s team drew criticism for unsportsmanlike behaviour.
“The India-Pakistan game in Colombo will not be another cricket match. It will be a continuation of the Asia Cup, and the only thing that changes is the gender,” Majumdar wrote in a post on X, hinting at possible refusal of handshakes, heightened drama, and political undertones.
“There will be no handshakes, lots of off-field drama and heightened stakes,” the Indian journalist claimed.
During the recently concluded Asia Cup 2025, India, who won the tournament after beating Pakistan in the final, were widely criticised for mixing politics with sport.
Indian players refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts in the three encounters during the tournament.
The Indian side further declined to accept the trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi because he is a Pakistani, and made politically charged remarks in post-match ceremonies and press conferences.
The remarks have sparked debate among fans, who fear that the spirit of sportsmanship could once again be overshadowed by political gestures.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has since then decided to take the trophy dispute to the International Cricket Council (ICC).
“We decided not to take the trophy from the ACC chairman, who happens to be one of the main leaders of Pakistan,” BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia told the Indian media outlets.
The BCCI secretary confirmed their plans to file a complaint against Naqvi over the trophy row in the next meeting of the ICC, scheduled in November.
As per the sources, ACC Chairman Naqvi, who also heads the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has rejected BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla’s repeated demand to hand over the Asia Cup 2025 trophy.
Pakistan’s women’s team, preparing for one of the most high-stakes encounters of the tournament, now faces the question of whether to respond to any provocation in kind or to rise above and focus solely on the game.
There is no response from the PCB on the matter yet.
The recent developments have made Pakistan-India as one of the most anticipated contests of the Women’s World Cup, not for cricketing reasons but for the political baggage that increasingly surrounds it.
