Men in Blue plan to stick to no-handshake policy for Sunday\u2019s clash, say media reports
\n dubai
\nIndia and Pakistan clash again in the Asia Cup on Sunday, renewing one of cricket\u2019s fiercest rivalries a week after their last match was overshadowed by a handshake row.
\nIndia won the September 14 group match by seven wickets in Dubai and afterwards refused to shake hands with their opponents, angering Pakistan.
\nIt was the first meeting between the neighbours since a four-day armed conflict in May left more than 70 people dead.
\nThe Pakistan Cricket Board lodged a protest with the International Cricket Council (ICC), saying that match referee Andy Pycroft had told skipper Salman Agha not to approach Indian counterpart Suryakumar Yadav for a handshake at the toss.
\nThe PCB demanded that Pycroft be removed from their matches and threatened to withdraw from the eight-team T20I competition.
\nTheir last group game was held up for an hour before the PCB said Pycroft had apologised, and the match, with the Zimbabwean in charge, eventually went ahead.
\nPakistan beat the hosts, the United Arab Emirates, to qualify for the next stage, the Super Fours, and set up another meeting with India in Dubai.
\nIndian media reported that the team plans to stick to its no-handshake policy for Sunday\u2019s clash.
\nIndia spinner Kuldeep Yadav sought to defuse the controversy.
\n\u201cWhen you step onto the field, it\u2019s just a batter in front of you. I have always approached it this way against Pakistan,\u201d he said ahead of India\u2019s last group game, against Oman on Friday.
\nAgha also stuck to sports.
\n\u201cIf we play good cricket like we have played in the last few months, I think we\u2019ll be good against any side,\u201d the Pakistan captain told reporters.
\nSimmering tensions
\nBecause of fraught political ties, nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan only meet at neutral venues during multi-team tournaments.
\nTensions soared ahead of the Asia Cup after the two countries engaged in their worst conflict since 1999. The hostilities in May left more than 70 people dead in missile, drone and artillery exchanges, before a ceasefire.
\nThe conflict was triggered by an April attack on civilians in Pahalgam in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir that New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing, a charge Islamabad denies.
\nIndia resisted calls to boycott the first Pakistan match.
\nA potential third India-Pakistan showdown looms if both sides qualify for the final on September 28 in Dubai.
\nIndia lifted the Asia Cup in its last, 50-over edition and are favourites to retain the crown. India and Pakistan advanced to the next stage from Group A, while Sri Lanka and Bangladesh qualified from Group B. Sri Lanka face Bangladesh on Saturday in the first Super Fours fixture.
\nSri Lanka, unbeaten so far, look dangerous while Bangladesh carry the underdog tag under skipper Litton Das.
\nAlong with regional bragging rights, the Asia Cup serves as build-up towards the T20 World Cup in February-March in India and Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Men in Blue plan to stick to no-handshake policy for Sunday\u2019s clash, say media reports dubai India and Pakistan clash again in the Asia Cup on Sunday, renewing one of cricket\u2019s fiercest rivalries a week after their last match was overshadowed by a handshake row. India won the September 14 group match by seven wickets […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":503843,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-503823","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n