India and Pakistan have been arch-rivals for decades, both on the cricket field and politically. However, the rivalry levels have surely escalated further since the Pahalgam attacks in April 2025, following which India had responded through Operation Sindoor. Since then, India has adopted a very cold approach towards Pakistan universally, including 'no handshake' stance in cricket.
It was first evident in the 2025 Asia Cup where Indian players refused to shake hands with their Pakistan counterparts at any point on the day. The trend has continued to women's cricket and also in U19 cricket. Pakistan players have often expressed their displeasure at this stance from India but the BCCI and its national teams seem unfazed by that criticism.
On Wednesday (January 21), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) released the official ad for the upcoming white-ball series against Australia. The video is intended to be a light-hearted prelude to the series but has a huge dig at India in the final seconds. During the video, people posing as Australians are seen touring around Pakistan.
“Handshake bhool gaye aap lagta hai ,padosiyon ke paas bhi rukay thay aap"
— junaiz (@dhillow_) January 21, 2026
PCB ABSOLUTELY COOKED INDIA IN THE PROMO FOR AUSTRALIA’S TOUR OF PAKISTAN 😂🔥
That's some content 👌pic.twitter.com/SaQWmCHVkG
Pakistan's T20I captain Salman Ali Agha also features at one point in the video and the crux of the ad is to tell Australia and the world that Pakistan loves to be hospitable to the guests. However, at the fag end of the video, one tourist is seen getting off the cab and the cab driver calls him back for not giving a handshake.
"Handshake bhool gaye aap, shaayad humaare padosiyaan ke wahaan rukhe the", says the driver. It translates to "you forgot the handshake, I guess you had stopped over at our neighbours' place'. Such banter is generally seen on social media but to include it in the official promo video of an international series is a debatable act from Pakistan.
However, the PCB and Pakistan's players have often integrated national issues and social media banter into on-field activity over the last few months. Nevertheless, this video will be a talking point on social media for the next few days.
