Who: India vs Pakistan
What: ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025
When: Sunday, October 5 at 09: 30 GMT
Where: R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka
How 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.
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The 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 that cricket has been, once again, pushed into the background, both teams want to overlook the controversial build-up and focus on the game instead.
“Obviously, we know what’s happening around us, but we try to stay focused on the game because the World Cup is an event every player waits for,” Pakistan’s captain Fatima Sana said on Saturday.
Sana, whose team were comprehensively beaten by Bangladesh in their opening match, said Pakistan will “focus on the tournament and on what we have come here for” when asked to comment on the “outside noise”.
The last time India played Pakistan at the Women’s World Cup, the players’ off-field interactions left an indelible mark on the game and earned widespread praise from the fans.
At the 2022 tournament in New Zealand, Pakistan’s then-captain Bismah Maroof was surrounded by a group of Indian players as they cooed over her six-month-old daughter Fatima.
Jokes were shared, selfies were taken, and memories were made as players from the rival nations bonded outside their dressing rooms well after the match was over.
Sana, who was part of the Pakistan squad in 2022, was asked whether the players will miss the spirit and camaraderie from three years ago.
“We try to maintain healthy relationships with every team,” Sana replied.
“What happened with Bismah’s daughter, when everyone mingled and enjoyed together – as players, we all like such moments, but the main thing is to stay focused [on the game].”
When the same question was posed to India’s bowling coach Aavishankar Salvi, the journalist was notified that India will not answer it.
However, Salvi did say that India – who beat Sri Lanka in their opening game by 59 runs – will also “focus on the cricket” on Sunday.
#Throwback to this beautiful moment from the 2022 World Cup involving Bismah Maroof’s daughter and Indian girls ❤️#CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/PuxFEC5O1Y
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) April 25, 2024
‘The world will be watching’
“We want our girls to take it just as a game because the World Cup is a long campaign and there will be a lot of games coming our way,” he said.
“When you enter a big tournament, the area of focus is only cricket, and it’s good to have the players into a good [head] space.”
The fixture is expected to draw huge viewing figures and organisers will expect a sizeable crowd at the ground, as well.
Sana, who also led Pakistan in their match against India in the T20 World Cup 2024, admitted such factors make it a high-pressure fixture and one that “the whole world will be watching”.
“There is pressure but the main thing is how we handle it. We’ll try to focus on our game, execute our plans, and play the way we’ve prepared.”
What happened in the last India vs Pakistan women’s cricket match?
The teams last met in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 in Dubai, where India emerged victorious by six wickets.
When was the last time Pakistan beat India in women’s cricket?
Pakistan have only beaten India on three occasions, the last of which came on October 7 at the T20 Women’s Asia Cup 2022. Nida Dar’s all-round performance sealed Pakistan’s 13-run win in Bangladesh.
Will it rain in Colombo during the India vs Pakistan match?
Rain i