T20 World Cup: No handshake between India, Pakistan captains before match

The captains of the Indian and Pakistani cricket teams, Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Ali Agha, on Sunday did not shake hands ahead of their group stage match during the men’s Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka’s Colombo.

During the Asia Cup in September too, the Indian team skipped the customary handshake with Pakistan. This came in the backdrop of tensions between the two countries after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and India’s subsequent military strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir – codenamed Operation Sindoor.

The Indian team had also refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Asian Cricket Council chairperson Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s interior minister and chief of the country's cricket board. The Indian team is yet to receive the trophy.

Ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup match against India on Sunday, the Pakistani government had on February 1 had said that it would boycott the fixture.

At the time, the International Cricket Council, the governing body of the sport and the organiser of the event, had said that while it respects the roles of governments in national policy, the decision was “not in the interest of the global game or the welfare of fans worldwide, including millions in Pakistan”.

On February 9, Pakistan reversed its decision and directed its national team to take the field against India.

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