ICC T20 World Cup 2026 | India, Pakistan continue status quo on 'no handshake'

The handshake saga between the captains of India and Pakistan continued on the cricket field as Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Agha refused to indulge in the customary gesture during the toss in their T20 World Cup clash at Colombo on Sunday.

Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl first. India made two changes with Abhishek Sharma and Kuldeep Yadav coming in for Sanju Samson and Arshdeep Singh, while their opponents played the same team.

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Refusing to shake hands at the toss and post match has become a norm ever since India's T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav refused to make the customary gesture with his counterpart Agha Salman in all three matches in the Asia Cup last year.

That tournament, played in September last year, came in the backdrop of high tension with Pakistan in May, following Operation Sindoor that India launched in response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 26 tourists in Jammu and Kashmir.

The trend continued into the Women's World Cup, where Harmanpreet Kaur did not shake hands with the Pakistani skipper Fatima Sana.

India A captain Jitesh Sharma also refused to shake hands with Pakistan A skipper Irfan Khan during the Emerging Asia Cup.

Even Under-19 captain Ayush Mhatre did not acknowledge his Pakistani counterpart Farhan Yousuf in the Under-19 World Cup clash earlier this month. The U-19 captain had also denied the hand shake with Bangladesh captain after deteriorating diplomatic and cricketing relations following Muhammad Yunus administration's anti-India stance.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had also cancelled the Indian Premier League (IPL) contract of Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman. This was followed by Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) refusal to send its team to India for the ICC T20 World Cup.