Women's World Cup: No Handshake Policy for Women in Blue

Following the precedent set by the Indian men's cricket team during the Asia Cup in Dubai, Harmanpreet Kaur and her side will also not engage in customary handshakes with Pakistan players during their Women's World Cup clash in Colombo on October 5.

With Indo-Pak cricketing ties at their lowest ebb, tensions escalated further after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi refused to hand over the winner's trophy to Suryakumar Yadav in Dubai.

The Indian men's team had already declined to accept the trophy from a Pakistan representative.

"The BCCI is aligned with the government and there will be no customary handshake at the toss, no photo-shoot with the match referee, and no end-of-game handshakes. The policy followed by the men will also be implemented by the women," a senior BCCI source said.

It will also be closely watched as to who presents the toss in Colombo, with expectations that it would be a former player or pundit from a neutral nation.

The atmosphere will stand in sharp contrast to the 2022 ODI World Cup in New Zealand, where images of Indian players doting over Bismah Maroof's infant daughter had gone viral.

This time, Harmanpreet Kaur and Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana are unlikely to exchange even the most basic pleasantries.