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The Women’s Asia Cup 2026 has been ongoing, and on Saturday, India took on Pakistan in a high-voltage clash in the group-stage game at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. During the match, the two captains avoided customary handshakes during the toss, reflecting ongoing tensions. The two captains did not make eye contact either.
India Women’s National Cricket Team have been in sensational form in this tournament, having won two out of their two matches in dominating fashion. This is a historic match for Harmanpreet Kaur, as she was playing in her 150th T20I match as a captain, achieving a unique milestone in the most anticipated game of the tournament.
No-Handshake policy continues between India and Pakistan
The two captains did not do the customary handshake during the toss. This practice that has been followed between the cricket teams, both men and women, since the men’s Asia Cup last year, when Suryakumar Yadav refused to shake hands with Salman Ali Agha. The no-handshake policy has been ongoing due to the diplomatic tensions between the two countries last year.
The issue started at the Asia Cup last year after the Pahalgam attack, where several civilians were killed by a terror group. After that, tensions between both countries escalated, and the Men in Blue and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided not to do customary handshakes between the captains and post-match as well.
Why did India refuse to shake hands with Pakistan players?
Captain Suryakumar Yadav led the charge and refused to shake hands with their Pakistan counterparts during the tournament, including after their first meeting, and he dedicated the victory to the Indian armed forces and the victims of the Pahalgam attack. After that, he was fined for making diplomatic comments.
Later on, it extended past the men's team to Women's Cricket, as during India and Pakistan's match at the Women's ODI World Cup in Colombo in October 2025, Harmanpreet Kaur and her teammates avoided the usual post-match handshake. Similar things happened in other age-group championships and the 2026 T20 World Cups.
Pakistan wins the toss and opts to bat first
Pakistan captain Fatima Sana won the toss and opted to bat first. They fielded the same team from their win over Thailand. The Women in Green won the first match by 35 runs as they defended a low total of 120 runs. She, during the toss, said that the decision to bat first was to maximize the conditions.
She said during the toss (as quoted by Cricbuzz), "We're gonna bat first because we want to put a maximum total here. [Did the last game influence this decision?] Yeah, because we know we have a good bowling side, so we will try to restrict them. [How have you addressed the batting wobble?] We had a good chat with the team and we just want to play according to the pitch. [Any changes?] No, we have the same team."
Harmanpreet Kaur also did not make any changes, and she is happy to chase as her bowlers have been doing well.
