No handshakes again! India’s Harmanpreet Kaur, Pakistan’s Fatima Sana avoid the usual greeting in the Women’s T20 World Cup

The no-handshake policy between India and Pakistan continued on Sunday as India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana did not shake hands during the toss ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup Group A match at the ICC in Edgbaston.Indian cricket teams have followed this practice since the Pahalgam terror attack and the subsequent Operation Sindoor carried out by the armed forces last year. The Indian players have avoided shaking hands with the Pakistani players during the draw and after matches since then.This approach was first seen when India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav did not shake hands with his Pakistani counterpart during the Asia Cup in Dubai.

Harmanpreet and Fatima also did not exchange handshakes during the Women’s ODI World Cup match in Colombo.Speaking on the eve of the match, Harmanpreet said cricket remained the sole focus for her team.“I think we are here for cricket, and we are just talking about cricket, except we are not talking about anything… Cricket has been our dream since day one, and we are just discussing cricket and tomorrow’s match,” Harmanpreet said when asked by the media on the eve of the opening match of the T20 World Cup in India.

In the toss on Sunday, Harmanpreet won and chose to bat first. As happened in recent meetings between the two sides, there was no handshake between the two leaders.India made one notable choice, bringing in Bharti Phulmali while leaving out Yastika Bhatia. Harmanpreet said that the team will enter the match with three spinners and two medium pacers.India entered the 12-team tournament as Women’s ODI World Cup champions after winning the 2025 title on home soil.

However, recent T20I results have been mixed.The clash between India and Pakistan was the teams’ first match in Group A of the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup, with the no-handshake policy once again attracting attention before the start of the match.the difference:India: Smriti Mandanna, Shafali Verma, Jemima Rodriguez, Harmanpreet Kaur, Bharti Phoolmali, Richa Ghosh (Week), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Goud, Shri Sharani, Shreyanka PatelPakistan: Gul Firoza, Muniba Ali (w), Ayesha Zafar, Saira Jabin, Alia Riaz, Natalia Parvez, Fatima Sana (c), Ramin Shamim, Nashra Sindhu, Tasmia Rabab, Sadia Iqbal.