‘Either play properly or…’ Manjrekar slams Team India’s ‘no shaking hands’ policy against Pakistan

Cricketer-turned-broadcaster Sanjay Manjrekar has slammed Team India’s ‘no shaking hands’ policy they deployed while playing against Pakistan at last year’s Asia Cup in the UAE. Although India chose against honouring the ‘spirit of the game’ (as many suggest it) because of the country's retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack, where Pakistan-based terrorists killed 24 civilians in broad daylight, Manjrekar feels Team India should either completely boycott playing Pakistan or end this drama of not shaking hands, further urging the players to either play ‘within the spirit of the game or don’t play at all.’

Taking to his X handle, Manjrekar wrote, “This ‘no shaking hands’ is such a silly thing that India has started. It’s unbecoming of a nation like ours. Either play properly within the spirit of the game or don’t play at all.”

The ‘no shaking hands’ policy first made headlines at the 2025 Asia Cup when India and Pakistan faced off in the first of three contested matches in that tournament. After winning the first match in Dubai, the Indian Team walked off the field without shaking hands with their counterparts, with the Pakistani players, lined up for the customary handshake, looking clueless. It continued until the finale, which India narrowly won, the matter escalated beyond this tournament and ahead of their marquee T20 World Cup showdown in Colombo on Sunday (Feb 15).

The two captains, Pakistan’s Salman Ali Agha and India’s Suryakumar Yadav, also addressed this matter in their pre-game conferences. While Agha said he expects the game to be played ‘within the spirit of the game’, Suryakumar shrugged off the hype around this ‘no shaking hands’ policy, saying firstly, it’s not the most important thing and instead cricket should be, secondly, urging everyone to wait until the match day to see if Indian players continue with it or shake hands with their opponents.

"The game should be played in that spirit of cricket," Pakistan captain Agha said on Saturday. "What I expect doesn't matter. But I do feel the game should be played in the way it has been played since cricket started. Rest is up to them [India], whatever they want to do."

On the other hand, SKY said, "Wait for 24 hours, no."

"Why are you [speculating] now? We have come here to play cricket, we'll play good cricket. We will take the call [on handshake] later. Dine well, sleep,” he continued.

Meanwhile, India and Pakistan lead Group A with two wins in their respective contested matches. A winner of this marquee showdown will become the first team to qualify for the Super 8s.