Mohsin Naqvi will not attend the awards ceremony at the Asian Games final

The competitive process in cricket is gaining momentum within the Asian Games 2026. The final match between India and Pakistan is scheduled for October 3rd (Saturday) in the city of Nishin.

Prior to this, Pakistan reached the final after defeating Bangladesh on October 1st (Thursday). Meanwhile, the Indian team reached the final by beating Sri Lanka in the semi-final.

An important question arises regarding how the gold medal will be distributed if the grand match between the two teams is cancelled due to precipitation.

For the men's final of the Asian Games 2026, no reserve day has been provided. This means that if the match does not take place on October 3rd due to rain, it will not be postponed to the next day.

In such a situation, instead of awarding the winner to one team, both teams—India and Pakistan—will be awarded gold medals. That is, if the match between India and Pakistan is completely cancelled due to rain, both teams will become gold medalists.

It is important to note that at the Asian Games 2026, the decision on the winner will not be based on the ICC T20I ranking. Previously, at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, when the final between India and Afghanistan did not take place due to rain, the gold medal was awarded to the Indian team with the best ICC T20I ranking.

However, the rules have changed for the Asian Games 2026. Now, if the final match is cancelled due to bad weather, both finalist teams will receive a gold medal. Thus, if the India-Pakistan match is cancelled, both teams will share the title of Asian Games 2026 champions, even without playing a single ball.

The discussion surrounding the upcoming major cricket match between India and Pakistan at the Asian Games is once again rising, extending beyond a simple sporting rivalry. The main question is whether athletes from both teams will exchange handshakes after the game.

The men's cricket final will take place in Nishin on Saturday at 10 am. India advanced to the final by defeating Sri Lanka with a score of 124 runs in the semi-final on Thursday. This match has once again sparked debate about the issue of handshakes.

Previously, Indian athletes refrained from shaking hands with Pakistani players in Asian and International Cricket Council tournaments during the Asia Cup and ICC events, demonstrating solidarity with the Indian armed forces following the 'Sindur' operation last year.

There is a suggestion that this policy of refusing handshakes will continue at Asian Cricket Council and International Cricket Council events. However, it remains an open question whether the same stance will be maintained at the continental event organized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

OCA or International Olympic Committee (IOC) rules do not oblige players to shake hands. Nevertheless, it is considered a widely accepted tradition within the standards of sportsmanship and friendly conduct between athletes.

Similar situations have occurred before. For instance, at the 2016 Olympics, Egyptian judoka Islam El Sheikhaby refused to shake hands with Israeli player Oru Sasson. The IOC did not fine him but criticized him for violating the rules of 'fair play' and 'spirit of friendship.' Subsequently, his own team sent him back.

Currently, Ukrainian athletes are also refusing to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players in various sporting competitions amid the ongoing war.

Now it remains to be seen whether the leadership of the Indian cricket team will maintain its previous position against Pakistan, or if they will shake hands after the match. It is worth noting that at the Asian Games, other Indian athletes did not view shaking hands with Pakistani rivals as an issue; for example, in table tennis and squash, Indian players usually shake hands with Pakistani opponents. Furthermore, in the semi-final on Thursday, India and Pakistan...

The decision on this matter in cricket will be made after the arrival of BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikhy in Nagoya. It is expected that ICC Chairman Jay Shah will also arrive at the final. Regardless of the outcome of the final, Indian and Pakistani players will have to share the podium. A similar situation occurred last week when the Indian women's team won gold. Although the women's team did not play against the bronze medalist from Pakistan in the tournament, athletes from both countries shared the podium. Sri Lanka was the silver medalist for India in the women's final.

The quarterfinals of the men's cricket tournament at the Asian Games 2026 in Nagoya have been fully determined. After the match in Group A was cancelled due to rain on September 26 (Saturday), Nepal and Afghanistan advanced to the next round, while the host country Japan was eliminated from the tournament.

Malaysia and Hong Kong advanced to the next stage from Group B. In the last match of Group A, Nepal and Japan faced each other. This match took place at Korogi Sports Park in Nishin city. Nepal, having lost the toss, started with bat, scoring a strong total of 149/4 in 15 overs. Sandeep Jora and Lokesh Bam helped the team reach a good position, but then it started raining. Due to the continuous rain, Japan's innings did not begin, and the match ended without a winner.

This result brought direct benefits to Nepal and Afghanistan. Earlier, Nepal achieved a major surprise in Group A by defeating Afghanistan. For Japan, this match was the last chance to remain in the tournament, but the rain dashed its hopes.

In Group B, the match between Malaysia and Oman was also cancelled due to rain, and no balls were bowled. As a result of this match, Malaysia and Hong Kong qualified for the quarterfinals, and Oman's campaign ended.

Following the completion of the preliminary round matches, the full quarterfinal schedule was announced. India will face Afghanistan on September 28 (Monday) at 10:00 AM. On the same day, at 5:30 AM Indian time, Pakistan and Hong Kong will meet. The third quarterfinal match will feature Sri Lanka against Nepal, and in the fourth quarterfinal, Malaysia will play against Bangladesh. Both of these matches will take place on September 29 (Tuesday).