India, Sept. 27 -- For the first time in an Asia Cup, India will play Pakistan in the final tonight. Going by the past two matches, it is unlikely that the Indian captain will neither shake hands after the toss with his Pakistani counterpart nor will the two teams engage in handshakes after the game.

The first time it happened, criticism, at least from neutral quarters, was directed against the Indian team's churlishness and the twinning of politics and cricket. This was understandable but somewhat off the mark. The Indian team's on-field action and captain Suyakumar Yadav's subsequent justification were a reflection of BCCI's and by extension the Indian government's stand on Pakistan following the recent border conflict and the Pahalgam...