CWC 2025: “All cricket protocols will be followed”- BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia despite reports of no handshakes in India v Pakistan game

India and Pakistan will clash in Women's World Cup on October 9 in Colombo.

Devajit Saikia, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), gave his thoughts on reports of possibly no handshaking or mingling in the India Women vs. Pakistan Women 2025 Women's World Cup match on Sunday in Colombo, but stated that the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian team will obey all rules.

Suryakumar Yadav's men's team eschewed handshakes in the recent 2025 Asia Cup in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, but made it to the final. It's unclear whether the women will follow suit.

“I cannot forecast anything, but our relationship with that particular hostile country is the same; there has been no change in the last week. India will play that match against Pakistan in Colombo, and all cricket protocols will be followed. I can only assure you that whatever is in the MCC regulations of cricket, that will be done. Whether there will be handshakes, whether there will be hugging, I cannot assure you of anything at this moment,” Saikia said on BBC Stumped.

However, a report in PTI has quoted a BCCI official saying that Indian girls will not shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts.

“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," the quoted source said.

According to Pakistani media, the Pakistani women’s team is preparing for the possibility that India may extend its boycott, and their team manager, Hina Munawar, has sought direction from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on the next steps.

According to Indian media sources, neither the PCB nor the BCCI has raised the issue with the ICC, which has no official rule regarding handshakes. Handshakes are customary but not necessary and are typically exchanged between captains and at the end of matches.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur has not received a clear stance briefing from the BCCI. Harmanpreet steered clear of controversy when asked about Indo-Pak tensions during the ICC captains' press conference.

“As cricketers, we can only control what happens on the field. We don’t think about things outside our control or even discuss them in the dressing room. Our focus is only on cricket,” she said.

In women’s cricket, Pakistan has never defeated India in ODIs in 11 matches thus far, while having only three wins in 16 T20Is.