ICC urges India and Pakistan to end no handshake row in U-19 Asia Cup encounter: Report

The likes of Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre will be in the spotlight as India kick-off their campaign in the U-19 Asia Cup with the clash against UAE on December 12. However, the game in focus will be the clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan that will take place on December 14. It has also been debated as to if the BCCI will continue with the no handshake policy in that game.

ICC want normal protocols to be followed

The International Cricket Council (ICC) seems to be totally against the policy as according to a report by PTI, they want to keep politics out of U-19 cricket and want normal protocols to be followed. The report also stated that if India do want to continue the no handshake row, then they will have to let the match referee know in advance.

The final decision on the matter will be taken by BCCI who have instructed India’s team manager Anand Datar to follow its explicit directive regarding the no-handshake policy.

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"The boys haven't been told anything. But obviously BCCI has given explicit instructions to its manager Anand Datar. Now if Indian boys don't shake hands with Pakistan team then match referee will have to be informed in advance," a BCCI source told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

"We know for a fact that ICC doesn't want politics to take front seat when it comes to junior cricket. So it is a case of both bad optics and public sentiment," he added.

Brief overview of the tournament

Meanwhile, India have been grouped alongside Pakistan, Malaysia and UAE in the U-19 Asia Cup while the second group consists of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. After facing UAE on December 12 and Pakistan on December 14, the Men in Blue will clash against Malaysia on December 16. The ODI tournament will consist of a total of 15 matches and the final will be held on December 21.

India's U19 squad for Asia Cup: Ayush Mhatre (C), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Vihaan Malhotra (vc), Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), Harvansh Singh (wk), Yuvraj Gohil, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan A. Patel, Naman Pushpak, D. Deepesh, Henil Patel, Kishan Kumar Singh*, Udhav Mohan, Aaron George.