India Women are up against Pakistan Women in an important match in the Women's World Cup 2025 on Sunday (October 5), and there was no customary pleasantries between the captains at the Toss.
Pakistan captain
Fatima Sana won the Toss and elected to bowl, but as she spoke, there was not even a glance with her counterpart, and vice versa.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Pakistan captain Fatima Sana had no exchanges with each other at the toss, and the duo also went past twice, without any handshake, thus maintaining the new normal between India and Pakistan.
India vs Pakistan: Handshake Controversy in Asia Cup
The Asia Cup 2025 witnessed a major handshake controversy between India and Pakistan that grabbed global attention. Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and his team refused to shake hands with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha during tosses and after all their matches in the tournament. This break in cricket tradition was a protest linked to the Pahalgam terror attack and ongoing political tensions between the countries. Pakistan viewed this as disrespectful, with captain Salman Agha and coach Mike Hesson criticizing the gesture, saying handshakes had always continued even in worse Indo-Pak relations.
The controversy escalated with claims that match referee Andy Pycroft advised captains against handshakes. The Pakistan Cricket Board lodged formal complaints demanding Pycroft's removal and threatened to withdraw from the tournament. The ICC intervened, imposing fines on players for code of conduct breaches, but rejected PCB's call to remove the referee. Indian players also refrained from shaking hands with umpires instead of Pakistani opponents after winning matches.
Further tension unfolded when India refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy from the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, during the final ceremony. And now, the women's cricketers have also avoided a handshake at the toss, thus continuing the recent process.
