If India doesn’t want to shake hands, then we have no particular desire to do so: Mohsin Naqvi

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Mohsin Naqvi has stated that Pakistan has no desire to shake hands with India if the arch-rivals don’t want to do so. Notably, his comments came right after India’s no-handshake controversy during the ACC Men’s Asia Cup in September.

Moreover, the teams also didn’t shake hands in the ICC ODI Women’s World Cup 2025 in October and in the ACC U19 Men’s Asia Cup earlier this month. Speaking to the media, Naqvi asserted that Pakistan would continue to engage with India on an equal footing, keeping politics out of the game.

“Our belief remains the same even today, and believe me, the Prime Minister himself has told me twice that we shouldn’t let politics come into all of this. From day one, our stance has been that cricket and politics should remain separate. On that day, Sarfaraz must have told you what kind of attitude was shown, and what it was like,” Naqvi said in a press conference in Lahore.

"If they don’t want to shake hands, then we have no particular desire to do so either. Whatever happens, it will happen on an equal footing with India. And you will see, this approach will continue going forward. It’s not possible for them to do one thing and for us to back down — that simply won’t happen,” Naqvi added.

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It’s important to note that in the recently concluded ACC U19 Men’s Asia Cup, both players from the India U19 and Pakistan U19 teams were involved in altercations during the grand finale, which Pakistan won quite comfortably.

Delving into the details, Pakistan U19 pacer Ali Raza hogged the spotlight after dismissing Indian U19 captain Ayush Mhatre early. Raza was later part of another exchange with the explosive opening batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi.

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