A rare moment of sportsmanship was witnessed during the ACC Men’s U-19 Asia Cup 2025 match between India and Pakistan when India’s left-arm seamer Kishan Singh helped Pakistan batter Huzaifa Ahsan tie his shoelace at the ICC Academy on Sunday.
The incident happened after the 36th over of Pakistan’s innings. Ahsan, batting on 60 not out, was struggling to tighten his shoelaces as he was wearing his gloves. Noticing the difficulty, Kishan walked over and helped him tie the lace, earning attention for the display of sportsmanship in a high-profile rivalry.
The gesture stood out as interactions between Indian and Pakistani players have been limited in recent months. Since the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 in September, the two sides have largely avoided on-field engagement, with only verbal exchanges and provocative gestures reported.
During the group-stage match of the T20 Asia Cup, India captain Suryakumar Yadav did not shake hands with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha at the toss. After the match, Yadav and teammate Shivam Dube returned directly to the dressing room without the customary handshakes, while Pakistan players were briefly seen waiting on the field.
Similar incidents were reported during the Super Four match on September 21 and again in the final on September 28 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
The situation was not limited to men’s cricket. At the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 match in Colombo, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Pakistan captain Fatima Sana also avoided shaking hands at the toss.
The same pattern continued in the ongoing Men’s U19 Asia Cup 2025. India captain Ayush Mhate did not offer a handshake to Pakistan captain Farhan Yousaf at the toss.
Farhan won the toss and chose to field first before passing the microphone to Ayush, but the traditional handshake between the two captains did not take place.
