India-Pakistan rivalry over the years has always been about aggression, drama and emotions. Given the historic political tensions between the two countries, this isn't surprising either. The strained relations escalated to another level since the Pahalgam attacks in April 2025. After the unfortunate incident, India had also vowed not to involve with Pakistan in any form, which also hinted at sport.
It would have been totally understandable if India chose to boycott its matches against Pakistan thereafter, even if those came only in ICC events and the Asia Cup. Of course, giving the opposition free points isn't ideal in sport but if you dig deep into the India-Pakistan rivalry and analyse India's experiences with Pakistan over the last decade, they couldn't have been faulted with such a step.
However, what India have done instead is confusing. The Indian players have completely shut off any form of conversation or contact with their Pakistani counterparts. This 'no handshake' strategy was in place from the 2025 Asia Cup and since then, India have employed this across senior men's, senior women's and age-group contests with Pakistan.
While Pakistan have reacted angrily to this, the fact that sport lovers and a huge section of Indian population are also objecting this stance isn't without logic. This India-Pakistan game on Sunday (February 15) in Colombo is another example of why this stance is nothing but a nationalism exercise gone wrong.
A large section of you might agree with this stance and you are absolutely entitled to your opinion. But, picture this - Rohit Sharma was present at the ground in Colombo and the former Indian captain had a great time with former Pakistan players Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Why are they 'allowed' to do that? Surely, there should be a 'no handshake' stance between the commentators also, no?
The fans in the stadium are also a huge mix of Indian and Pakistani people, many of whom have even travelled together to the venue. The internet is flooded with clips of the fans' adventures and when I checked a few of them out, there were many instances of immense camaraderie between Indian fans and their Pakistani counterparts.
To cut it short, everybody at the R Premadasa Stadium are in good terms with each other except the players from India and Pakistan. The fans can be excused but why are the former players exempted from this stance? Especially if it is supposed to be a strong stance against Pakistan? It looks weird to see the former players having a gala time while the active players are having a war approach at the same time.
If India really wants to take a strong stance, they should ideally boycott Pakistan matches. However, the insane revenue that an India-Pakistan game generates (Rs 567 crore) in ICC tournaments, is arguably too good to turn down. Money, after all, cannot be allowed to get away that easily, right? That said, there has to be a show of nationalism too, even if half-baked. Hmm!
By continuing the 'no handshake' stance, India are just painting themselves in funny colours because the hypocrisy is staring you in the face. This isn't a stance of patriotism, this is just nationalism and jingoism mixed with a fake tone altogether. Whether the directive has come from the BCCI or the Central Government, it's high time that a reboot is done on this stance.
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(The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK)