Sports
BCCI secretary says India-Pak handshake not guaranteed in Women’s World Cup – SUCH TV
A Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official has stated that there is “no assurance” that India and Pakistan players will shake hands when the two sides meet during the Women’s World Cup on Sunday, according to media reports.
The development comes days after tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad spilled over onto the cricketing field during the Sept 9-28 Men’s Asia Cup staged in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), when Indian cricketers refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts during all three clashes in the tournament.
The tensions had culminated in India not accepting the trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also chairman of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
The tournament had seen the first cricket matches between the two sides since the military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May after India had launched air strikes in Pakistan over the Pahalgam attack in occupied Kashmir.
Pakistan had denied involvement, and the crisis eased following US intervention.Against this backdrop, Pakistan is kicking off its Women’s World Cup campaign today by playing Bangladesh in Colombo. Pakistan will face India in the tournament on Sunday.
According to a report published by BBC Sport on Wednesday, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia told BBC Stumped — a weekly cricket show — the following: “I cannot forecast anything, but our relationship with that particular hostile country is the same, there is no change in the last week.”
He added, “India will play that match against Pakistan in Colombo, and all cricket protocols will be followed.
I can only assure that whatever is in the Marylebone Cricket Club regulations of cricket, that will be done.
“Whether there will be handshakes, whether there will be hugging, I cannot assure you of anything at this moment,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Indian Express reported while citing BCCI sources that the Indian team had been advised by the board to avoid handshakes with Pakistan’s players before they departed for Sri Lanka.
The sources noted, “The team won’t be shaking hands with the Pakistan team during the World Cup.
The team has been informed by the BCCI bosses about this. The Indian board will stand by its players.”
A day earlier, Pakistan Cricket Board and Asia Cricket Council Chairman Mohsin Naqvi had refuted claims by Indian media that he had apologised to the BCCI over the trophy handover issue at Sunday’s Men’s Asia Cup final.
The closing ceremony of the Asia Cup had descended into farce on Sunday as the Indian cricket team refused to collect the winners’ trophy from the ACC chief, marking a historic low in cricketing relations between the two countries.
Subsequently, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav complained his side were denied the trophy after winning the Asia Cup.
Later, Indian media alleged that Naqvi had himself refused to hand the trophy over to the Indian team.
Subsequently, several Indian outlets, including IndiaToday, Financial Express and Hindustan Times, reported that Naqvi had apologised to the BCCI, but that he still refused to hand them the trophy.
Responding to the media reports, he had stated, “Indian media thrives on lies, not facts.
Let me make it absolutely clear: I have done nothing wrong and I have never apologised to the BCCI nor will I ever do so.”
The PCB chairman called the claims “fabricated nonsense” and “cheap propaganda”, saying it was aimed at misleading Indian people.
He slammed India for continuing to “drag politics into cricket, damaging the very spirit of the game”.
“As ACC chairman, I was ready to hand over the trophy that very day and I am still ready now,” he said.
“If they truly want it, they are welcome to come to the ACC office and collect it from me.”
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The minute sports fans found out there was a new American pope and he’d been born in Chicago, every American sports fan had one thought: was he a Cubs or White Sox fan?
Soon, news emerged that he was a White Sox fan — not without a false report, however, that he was a Cubs fan — and shortly thereafter footage emerged that not only was the newly christened Pope Leo XIV a fan, he’d been in the stands for the 2005 World Series, which the White Sox won in a series sweep.
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Justin Ishbia, Ambassador Brian Burch and Clay Travis with an autographed World Series 2005 jersey signed by all the players seen on the left, as Pope Leo XIV is seen on the right. (OutKick; Reuters)
Pope Leo, born Robert Prevost, was elected as pope in May of 2025 and then one month later it was announced that my Vanderbilt law school friend and classmate Justin Ishbia was buying the Chicago White Sox.
The two of us were chatting about fun ways Justin could introduce himself to Chicago sports fans and I tossed out an idea — we should travel to the Vatican and invite Pope Leo to throw out the first pitch at a planned new White Sox stadium.
After all, Pope Leo was a big enough White Sox fan that he’d attended the World Series 20 years ago as a fan in the crowd. Sure, he’s the pope now, but deep down he, like all of us, is a diehard sports fan.
We were both convinced the idea was a good one, but it presented a challenge: how do you get a meeting with the pope to invite him to throw out the first pitch?
Pope Leo XIV waves to the faithful ahead of his inauguration Mass in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City, on May 18, 2025. (David Ramos/Getty Images)
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An Invitation to the Pope
It’s not like you can just call the Vatican and ask to speak to the pope’s people.
Ultimately we hit on our answer: Vatican ambassador Brian Burch, who lived in Chicago with his family prior to his confirmation as ambassador.
Luckily, Ambassador Burch loved the idea and, this morning in Vatican City, Justin and his wife Kristen met the pope, delivered a team autographed 2005 White Sox World Series replica jersey, and conveyed the first pitch invitation to Pope Leo, who said yes so long as his schedule permits. (It turns out the pope is kind of busy).
So, the result, as many of you have likely seen on social media already, is an awesome one — the first ever American-born pope will hopefully be throwing out the first pitch in a new Chicago White Sox stadium, which will potentially mark the first time the pope has visited Chicago since 1979.
Pope Leo XIV prays over members of the international media in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican on May 12, 2025. (Domenico Stinellis)
Let’s hope it’s a strike.
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And that Pope Leo can help return the magic of the 2005 season for White Sox fans.
DUBAI: Pakistan’s star batsman Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan have made notable gains in the latest ICC ODI rankings after delivering standout performances in the team’s emphatic 3-0 series victory over Sri Lanka.
In the updated batters rankings, Babar climbed one position to claim sixth place with 722 rating points, while Salman Ali Agha maintained his 16th position.
Rizwan enjoyed a significant rise, jumping five places to 22nd. Opener Fakhar Zaman has also benefited from the series, moving up five spots to 26th with 589 points.
Meanwhile, other Pakistani batters saw a decline. Opener Saim Ayub dropped three places to 38th, while left-handed batter Imam-ul-Haq slipped seven spots to 54th with 516 points.
In a major shake-up at the top, former Indian captain Rohit Sharma has been dethroned as the number one ODI batter, with New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell claiming the top spot.
Sharma now sits second, Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran dropped to third, and the Indian duo of Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli hold the fourth and fifth positions, respectively.
In the bowlers’ rankings, Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed makes a remarkable jump of 11 places to enter the top 10, now sitting ninth with 624 points.
Pakistan captain Shaheen Afridi drops five spots to 21st, while right-arm pacer Haris Rauf climbs five places to 23rd with 562 points.
Another pacer, Naseem Shah, falls three places to 36th, whereas Mohammad Wasim Jr makes a massive leap of 20 spots to 64th. Spinner Mohammad Nawaz, however, slips seven places to 71st.
Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan continues to dominate as the number one ODI bowler, followed by England’s Jofra Archer in second and South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj in third.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has issued an updated list of No Objection Certificates (NOCs) granted to national players for participation in various international leagues.
As per the details, several Pakistani cricketers have been cleared to take part in the Abu Dhabi T10 League and the ILT20.
The NOCs for Abu Dhabi will remain valid until November 25.
Additionally, three players have been granted NOCs for the Dubai T20 League, scheduled from December 2 to January 4.
These include Fakhar Zaman, Hassan Nawaz, and Naseem Shah.
A number of other players have also received NOCs for different leagues, among them Iftikhar Ahmed, Khawaja Nafee, Asif Ali, Salman Irshad, Mohammad Amir, Arafat Minhas, Irfan Khan, Azam Khan, Shahnawaz Dahani, Abbas Afridi, Akif Javed, Mir Hamza, Obaid Shah, and Zaman Khan.
The updated list reflects PCB’s ongoing efforts to manage player workloads while facilitating their participation in global cricket events.
Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali have already been issued NOCs for BBL.
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