India’s U19 team continued to follow the no-handshake approach adopted after the Pahalgam terror attack during the Asia Cup 2025. Captain Ayush Mhatre decided not to shake hands with Pakistan captain Farhan Yousuf during the toss during the match at the ICC Cricket Academy on Sunday, December 14.
India and Pakistan are playing their second Group A match of the Under-19 Asia Cup. Both teams started the tournament with big wins. India defeated UAE by a margin of 234 runs while Pakistan defeated Malaysia by a massive 297 runs, setting up a much-awaited clash between the two rivals.
ICC urges India to reconsider policy of no handshake before U-19 match
Ahead of the big U19 match between India and Pakistan, a PTI report revealed that the International Cricket Council (ICC) wanted India to drop its no-handshake policy. The ICC believed that youth cricket should remain free from political issues.
India adopted the no-handshake rule during the Senior Asia Cup in Dubai to show support for the Indian Army and the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack. Later, whenever India played Pakistan in the Women’s ODI World Cup and Rising Stars Asia Cup, the same approach was adopted.
The ICC shared its view but did not pressure India to make any changes. Notably, the final decision rested with the BCCI. The only condition was that if India wanted to continue this policy then the match referee should be informed ahead of time.
India maintains no handshake policy during U19 Asia Cup toss
India’s stance of not shaking hands was once again visible during the U19 Asia Cup match in Dubai, where Ayush Mhatre avoided shaking hands with Pakistan captain Farhan Yousuf at the time of toss.
Once the delayed toss took place, both captains went straight to their broadcasting duties instead of greeting each other in the usual manner. After Yousuf decided to bowl, both captains kept their distance, exchanging only brief words with the presenter and then walked away without making eye contact.
This is the sixth India-Pakistan matchup in ICC and ACC events since September, and in every one of those games, the Indian captain has maintained a no-handshake policy.
Toss decision, playing eleven and captain’s reasoning
Farhan Yousuf said, “We will bowl first. There is moisture on the pitch and we want to take advantage of the opportunity. It is a normal game for me, so there is no pressure. I have confidence in our bowlers. We want to restrict India to 200 runs.”
Ayush Mhatre said, “Because of the humidity, we might have bowled first. We have to stick to our plans and bat well. We are confident, we won the match easily. It is a normal match for us because we have played a lot of cricket.”
India U19: Ayush Mhatre (captain), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Aaron George, Vihaan Malhotra, Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu (wicketkeeper), Kanishk Chauhan, Khilan Patel, Deepesh Devendran, Kishan Kumar Singh, Henil Patel.
Pakistan U19: Usman Khan, Sameer Minhas, Ali Hasan Baloch, Ahmed Hussain, Farhan Yousuf (capt), Hamza Zahoor (w), Huzaifa Ahsan, Naqab Shafiq, Abdul Subhan, Mohammad Syam, Ali Raza.
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