India vs Pakistan: Harmanpreet Kaur and Fatima Sana avoid shaking hands at toss

In Dubai, during an Asia Cup Women's match between India and Pakistan, the two teams avoided shaking hands before the toss, continuing a one-year tradition of not engaging in the customary pre-toss pleasantries. Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur and her Pakistani counterpart Fatima Sana proceeded with the toss without shaking hands.

This marks nearly a year since the two teams last shook hands on the cricket field, a practice that began at the same venue during the men's Asia Cup. The trend started after Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav declined to shake hands with his Pakistani counterpart Salman Ali Agha following the Pahalgam attack. India won the match, and Yadav dedicated the victory to the Indian Armed Forces.

The two teams skipped the handshake at the end of their subsequent matches in that tournament. Later, India refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also president of the Asian Cricket Council. The refusal continued into the Women's World Cup, where the Indian women's team also declined to shake hands.

The handshake-free trend has since extended to all levels of cricket, including the Under-19 World Cup and Asia Cup Rising Stars meetings between India and Pakistan. Despite the lack of handshakes, Pakistan won the coin toss and opted to ask India to bowl first, though they have yet to do so in this tournament. Harmanpreet Kaur, who is playing her 150th T20I match as a captain, expressed confidence in her bowling unit and spoke of a strong bowling performance throughout the tournament.