'It's only for show, isn’t it?': Alastair Cook on India, Pakistan's 'no handshake policy', claims players talk behind closed doors

Former England captain Alastair Cook, in a shocking claim, said that India and Pakistan players are chatting behind closed doors, even as they do no shake hands on the field.

The claim came in the latest episode of Stick to Cricket podcast as Cook, Michael Vaughan, David Lloyd and Phil Tufnell were discussing the India-Pakistan rivalry.

Tufnell paved the way by saying India and Pakistan is now a mismatch, given India's recent dominance in the fixture.

“Dare I say it, Pakistan against India, that’s a mismatch, isn’t it," Tufnell said.

“I mean it look to me that way. It seems to me every time Pakistan play India they look intimidated by India on a cricket field," Vaughan added.

“That whole situation in sour isn’t it? You know, it is just sad. Not shaking hands on a cricket field," Vaughan said pointing to the current situation.

However, Cook claimed that the "no handshake" policy was just to show the cameras and the public, adding that the players have been talking as usual behind closed doors.

“But aren’t they talking behind closed doors? I read somewhere that everyone’s just chatting away," Cook said.

“It is only for show, isn’t it? On the actual field, they are not shaking hands, but then behind closed doors, they are all talking and are all fine," former opener added.

The handshake saga began when Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav refused to do the customary gesture at the toss in the Asia Cup in September last year. In all three matches in the tournament the teams did not acknowledge each other.

The trend continued into the women's World Cup and the Emerging Asia Cup last year, while India's Under-19 captain also did not shake hands in the youth World Cup earlier this year.

On February 15, India and Pakistan played in their T20 World Cup encounter with India winning comfortably by 61 runs. The two teams, however, qualified to the Super 8 stage and could possibly meet again in the semifinal of the final of the tournament. The arch-rivals have decided to maintain status-quo on the "no handshake" policy.