"I will break the suspense tomorrow. Wait for 24 hours," Suryakumar Yadav had said on the eve of the match. Twenty-four hours later, the message was clear and unambiguous: there would be no handshakes.
The frost between the India and Pakistan teams, which set in during the Asia Cup last September, continued unabated at the T20 World Cup clash in Colombo. Suryakumar Yadav walked out for the toss rather seriously, exchanging a few words with those around the pitch, handed the team sheet and was indifferent to his counterpart Salman Ali Agha.
As the Pakistan captain had indicated on match eve, the decision lay with the Indian team. Suryakumar didn't convey his stance through words but chose to not go ahead with the handshake after Pakistan won the toss and opted to chase. It was obvious that the decision was not Suryakumar's alone. The diktat came from the top - how high up that ladder remains unclear - but it would not be unreasonable to assume that the directive originated from the government.
The line appears firmly drawn: India will engage Pakistan only on multilateral and global platforms, and strictly between the white lines, and with no pleasantries attached.
As reported by this website earlier, the handshake issue was one of the key sticking points during the February 10 parley involving the International Cricket Council, the Pakistan Cricket Board, and the Bangladesh Cricket Board, when Pakistan's threat to boycott tonight's game was discussed.
Meanwhile, the frostiness extended beyond the teams. At least five former captains from either country were around for on-field chats but they didn't mingle to exchange pleasantries too often - they just stuck to their discussions and dispersed..
The decision is likely to draw criticism from Pakistani experts, though a section in India has also expressed reservations. "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," Sanjay Manjrekar said on the matter.
