In Dubai, at an Asia Cup fixture, India and Pakistan cricket captains have avoided shaking hands again.
The handshake saga between the Indian and Pakistani cricket teams continued at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, as the two sides skipped the customary pre-toss pleasantry exchange during their Women’s Asia Cup fixture. Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and her Pakistani counterpart, Fatima Sana, went through the toss without shaking hands.
With this, it has now been nearly a year since the two teams have not been shaking hands on the field of cricket. The trend began on September 14 last year, at the same venue and in the same tournament — then the men’s edition of the Asia Cup. Played in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam attack, the fixture saw then-Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav decline to shake hands with his Pakistan counterpart Salman Ali Agha. India won the match, after which Yadav dedicated the victory to the Indian Armed Forces. The two teams also didn’t shake hands at the end of the match.