NEW DELHI: As India and Pakistan clashed once again on the cricket field, this time in the U19 Men’s Asia Cup, India captain Ayush Mhatre maintained the team’s ‘no handshake’ policy during the group-stage fixture at the ICC Academy Ground on Sunday.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!At the toss, neither Mhatre nor Pakistan skipper Farhan Yousaf initiated the customary exchange of pleasantries. After Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl first, the two captains avoided eye contact, gave their respective interviews, and proceeded to their dressing rooms.
This follows the no-handshake protocol observed by the Indian men’s team during the recently concluded Asia Cup 2025, where they refrained from shaking hands with Pakistan in all three matches and declined to receive the trophy from Asian Cricket Council President Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s Interior Minister. India’s stance was later mirrored in the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup, with captain Harmanpreet Kaur upholding the same policy.
On the field, Yousaf opted to bowl first in a rain-reduced match of 49 overs per side. India, batting first, are currently struggling at 114 for 4 in 20 overs.
In their tournament opener, India had secured a massive 234-run victory over the UAE, setting the highest-ever score in Men’s U19 Asia Cup history. Teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi starred with 171, while Aaron George (69) and Vihaan Malhotra (69) played crucial supporting roles. Contributions from Vedant Trivedi (38), Abhigyan Kundu (32), and Kanishk Chouhan (28) helped India reach a record total of 433/6.
This surpassed India’s previous highest U19 ODI total of 425/3 against Scotland in 2004 and ranks as the third-highest score in men’s U19 one-day history. Pakistan, meanwhile, began the tournament with a dominating 297-run win over Malaysia U19.
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