Asia Cup 2025: India vs Pakistan Match on September 21 – Will Pakistan Boycott Over Handshake Controversy?

The Asia Cup 2025 match between India and Pakistan has become the center stage after the Indian players refused to shake hands at the end of their last match. The incident has brought a lot of emotions on social media with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) complaining on the referee of the match and the situation has been creating a lot of tension even before the tournament kicks off into the critical matches.

Handshake Controversy Ignites Tensions

It is reported that India might decline to take the Asia cup trophy presented to them by PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi in case they win the final in a show of honoring the Armed Forces. The handshake scandal has added political strains in the game of cricket making it even more competitive. The two cricket boards are currently in a precarious position.

The next round of the tournament will be on September 21 between India and Pakistan in a round-robin. Such an arrangement will guarantee two meetings between the two archrivals, maximizing the revenue and viewership of ACC. The question that looms over the air is whether Pakistan will play this match considering this controversy or will stand just like India did in the earlier match.

Potential Boycott Raises Uncertainty

In case Pakistan chooses to miss the second match with India, the latter may yet get to the final as they have been controlling the tournament up to this point. Meanwhile, the competition to Pakistan is tough as the teams such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan are also participating in the Asia Cup campaign and their participation is not predictable in the light of the off-field problems.

The PCB has also threatened to boycott their next Asia Cup 2025 match with UAE in case match referee Andy Pycroft is not withdrawn to play in the tournament. The Zimbabwean official has also faced criticism in failing to acknowledge the protest by Pakistan against the handshake incident, and the board is enraged.

PCB Demands Referee Removal

The PCB filed an official complaint to the ACC and wanted Pycroft to be removed. The report also indicated that Indian cricketers did not shake hands with any of the Pakistan players after defeating them 7 wickets to 0. The reason behind the frustration of Pakistan is that they believe that the officiating was biased and the referee of the match failed to respond in the incident.

The current head of the ACC, Mohsin Naqvi, has formally filed the issue with ICC yet the world body is not hosting the tournament. This strange build-up shows how grave Pakistan is taking the handshake issue and the implications that it has on the Asia Cup.

Implications for the Asia Cup 2025

The event has tainted the India-Pakistan matches bringing into doubt sportsmanship and diplomacy in cricket. The reason is that fans and analysts are keenly monitoring whether the next game will be conducted in a natural manner or whether political tensions will take center stage to interfere with the on-field events of the tournament.

The Asia cup 2025 is now at stake and the two boards of cricket are at loggerhead. Despite the fact that India is adamant, the manner in which Pakistan will react to the situation can have a significant influence on the timing, the ending, and the image of the tournament on the international arena that is why the game that will take place on September 21 can be referred to as one of the most debated games in the recent history of the sport.

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