Women's World Cup: Pakistan players expecting no handshake from Indian team in Colombo clash

Mumbai, Sep 30 (IANS) As the ICC Women's ODI World Cup starts with an opener in Guwahati, the Pakistan women's cricket team is expecting the Indian women to repeat the 'no handshake' policy of the men's team when the two sides meet in a crucial clash in Colombo on October 5. 

Considering the huge controversies in the just-concluded Men's Asia Cup in Dubai, the Pakistani team is braced for more ‘no handshake' from the Indians and has sought guidelines from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in this regard, according to a report by Telecom Asia Sport on Tuesday.

The Indian men’s team did not shake hands with their Pakistan counterparts in all three matches of the Asia Cup and then refused to receive the trophy from Asian Cricket Council President Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the Interior Minister of Pakistan.

“Pakistan women's team manager Hina Munawar has taken guidelines from Pakistan Cricket Board on what should be players’ stance as they expect Indian women players to repeat the same no handshake policy with Pakistan players,” sources told www.telecomasia.net.

Ms. Munawar, the current manager of the Pakistan women's cricket team, is a police officer who became the first female manager of the Pakistan men’s team in February this year, managing the Tri-Nation Series and the Champions Trophy.

Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana said they will be taking the match against India as any normal World Cup match and will not be focusing on other stuff.

“The World Cup is the biggest stage for us, and we know that consistency, discipline, and teamwork will be key to moving forward. Our focus is to compete hard in every match, execute our plans well, and give our best to reach the knockout stage.

“Wearing the Pakistan shirt is an honour and every player in this squad understands the responsibility that comes with it. We aim to play positive cricket, rise to the big moments, and make Pakistan proud, InshaAllah. We are all looking forward to the tournament,” she was quoted as saying by www.telecomasia.net.

Pakistan women have never beaten India in any of the 11 One-day Internationals they have played so far, the last of which was in the 2022 World Cup at Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, the report said.

Pakistan women will open their campaign in the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 against Bangladesh on October 2, with captain Fatima Sana highly optimistic her team will start their campaign on a winning note.

Pakistan qualified for the eight-team event after maintaining a 100 per cent win record in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier held in Lahore earlier this year. They beat Bangladesh in the Qualifiers during their five-match winning streak.

Pakistan will play all their group-stage matches at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo. Should Pakistan qualify for the 29 October semi-final and the 2 November final, then both the matches will take place in Colombo.

“It will be important to have a winning start to the event,” Sana told Telecomasia.net. “Our preparations for the World Cup have been focused and purposeful. We have worked on the areas where improvement was needed, and it is encouraging to see the progress we have made.

“This process really started in the Qualifiers, where we had a strong campaign, winning all our matches to secure our place in this mega event,” said Fatima Sana.

Sana believes practice sessions and warm-up matches were good preparation. “The players have shown great commitment in the training session here in Colombo. The conditions are quite similar to back home in Pakistan, which has helped the squad adjust quickly.

“It was unfortunate that the warm-up match against Sri Lanka was washed out due to rain, as it would have been valuable preparation against the home side, who know these conditions better than anyone. However, the game against South Africa gave us a good opportunity to test different combinations and gain more clarity.

“On a personal note, it was nice to spend some time at the crease and score runs, which was something I had been looking forward to after the last series. While there is always room to improve, I am pleased with how the squad has responded to challenges and the way we continue to grow as a unit," said the Pakistan captain.

--IANS

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