Who: India vs PakistanWhat: ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025When: Sunday, October 5 at 09:30 GMTWhere: R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri LankaHow to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will have live build-up from 06:30 GMT ahead of our text commentary stream.Cricket could take the backseat on yet another Sunday when India meet Pakistan in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 in Colombo amid lingering political tension between the South Asian neighbours.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThe eagerly awaited group-stage fixture will likely be bookended by questions surrounding the now-infamous handshakes between both sides as the captains meet at the pre-match coin toss, and at the end of the match, when both squads traditionally step back on the field.When India and Pakistan’s men’s teams met in the Asia Cup 2025, the Indian team and its captain did not shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts in all three fixtures at the tournament, leading to furore and backlash that marred the tournament.A top official of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has not ruled out a “no handshake” policy for the Women’s World Cup fixture, as well.“Whether there will be handshakes, whether there will be hugging, I cannot assure you of anything,” BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia told the BBC’s Stumped podcast.“I cannot forecast anything, but our relationship with that particular hostile country is the same. There is no change in the last week.”‘Focus on the game’While it may seem tha …
