No handshake: India and Pakistan captains avoid shaking hands during toss of Women's Asia Cup 2026 clash

No handshake: India and Pakistan captains avoid shaking hands during toss of Women's Asia Cup 2026 clash originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

India and Pakistan captains continue to avoid handshakes during toss.

The no-handshake policy has been practised by Indian men's and women's cricket teams since last year.

India lock horns with Pakistan on September 5 in Dubai.

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No handshake: India and Pakistan captains avoid shaking hands during toss of Women's Asia Cup 2026 clash

Cricket fans across the world now know the drill that whenever India and Pakistan cricket teams take the field, they avoid the customary handshake after the toss.

The BCCI introduced a strict no-handshake policy since the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack. Since the tragic incident and subsequent political unrest between the neighbours, India and Pakistan captains in men's and women's cricket do not shake hands during international games.

That debate had resurfaced ahead of the Women's Asia Cup 2026, and head coach Amol Muzumdar didn't give much away before the game.

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At the toss, fans saw the same drill once again as Harmanpreet Kaur and Fatima Sana avoided each other after the toss was conducted.

MORE: India women vs Pakistan women's Asia Cup 2026 live score, toss winner, result and highlights from Dubai

When did the no-handshake policy between India and Pakistan begin and spread across formats?

During the 2025 Men's Asia Cup, the BCCI first introduced the no-handshake protocol, as a direct response to the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22, 2025.

Under Suryakumar Yadav's captaincy, the Indian men's team avoided any handshakes with Salman Ali Agha's Pakistan side across all three meetings that tournament, right through to the final.

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What started as a one-off stance during that tournament has since become something of a standard practice across Indian cricket, cutting across age groups, genders and formats.

The women's team first held the line during their World Cup fixture against Pakistan in Colombo back in October 2025, and Indian players followed suit again at the Men's Rising Stars Asia Cup that November.

The policy carried through both India-Pakistan meetings at the Under-19 Asia Cup in December 2025, and neither side exchanged handshakes during their Under-19 World Cup clash or at the Men's T20 World Cup in February 2026.

Before the Asia Cup 2026 clash, Harmanpreet Kaur's side avoided handshakes with Pakistan's captain and players during their Women's T20 World Cup encounter in Birmingham.

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