Pakistan and India’s Under-19 sides are competing in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on Sunday in a high-stakes Super Six clash, with the customary handshake not taking place at the toss.
The fixture comes with extra edge after Pakistan U19 hammered India by 191 runs in their most recent meeting at the U19 Asia Cup final in December, and the same tension around pre-match formalities has already been visible at the age-group level, with captains skipping the customary greeting at the toss in that tournament.
The freeze over match-day courtesies has escalated since a deadly military clash between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May 2025, with friction repeatedly surfacing around toss ceremonies and post-match formalities.
It first drew major attention at the men’s level during the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup in September, when India’s players refused to shake hands with Pakistan for their first group stage match at the toss in an episode that drew widespread criticism.
The issue intensified further during the tournament when India captain Suryakumar Yadav again refused the customary toss handshake with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha in two more fixtures.
The incident also triggered controversy over how the toss ceremony was handled, with the omission reportedly linked to match referee Andy Pycroft, and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) considering pulling out before Pycroft admitted mishandling aspects of the episode and expressed regret, according to the PCB.
The tension later extended to other events, including the women’s game, where the sides declined greetings at the toss during the recent T20 World Cup, and to the men’s Rising Stars Asia Cup tie in Doha.
The stance has also been reinforced by officials. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Devajit Saikia said the approach regarding Pakistan would remain unchanged, and told the BBC there was no assurance Indian players would shake hands with Pakistani counterparts during their Women’s World Cup meeting in Colombo on October 5.
In that match, Pakistan captain Fatima Sana and India captain Harmanpreet Kaur avoided shaking hands at the toss, continuing the same pattern.
The no-handshake flashpoint has not been limited to India–Pakistan fixtures. At this Under-19 World Cup, India captain Ayush Mhatre and Bangladesh’s stand-in captain Zawad Abrar skipped the customary handshake after the toss in India’s Group B match, a moment framed in the context of heightened board-level tensions.
In contrast, blind women from India and Pakistan brushed aside the political tension at the inaugural Blind Women’s T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka in November.
While there was no handshake after the toss, both sides later greeted each other warmly at the end of the match, exchanging compliments after travelling together to the venue on the same bus.
