Handshake drama returns! India, Bangladesh captains refuse pleasantries at U-19 World Cup

NEW DELHI: India skipper Ayush Mhatre and Bangladesh vice-captain Zawad Abrar skipped the customary handshake astatine the flip up of their Group A clash successful the ICC Under-19 World Cup astatine the Queens Sports Club connected Saturday, underlining the strain successful relations betwixt the 2 neighbouring nations.The flip was delayed by implicit 15 minutes owed to drizzle, and erstwhile the captains walked out, neither initiated the accepted speech of pleasantries.

After Bangladesh won the flip and chose to vessel first, some sides completed their broadcast interviews and returned to their respective dressing rooms without interacting.The determination is successful enactment with the ‘no-handshake’ stance adopted by the Indian men’s squad during the Men’s Asia Cup successful September 2025.

Across each 3 matches of that tournament, Indian players did not shingle hands with Pakistan counterparts and besides declined to judge the trophy from Asian Cricket Council president Mohsin Naqvi, who besides serves arsenic Pakistan’s Interior Minister.The argumentation was aboriginal followed by India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur during an ICC Women’s ODI World Cup match, and was again observed by the Indian Under-19 squad during their group-stage fixture against Pakistan astatine past month’s U-19 Asia Cup.

Ties betwixt India and Bangladesh person besides worsened successful caller months pursuing unit linked to the decease of a Bangladeshi pupil person and the lynching of a Hindu man. The tensions spilled into cricket medication erstwhile IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders released Bangladesh accelerated bowler Mustafizur Rahman from their squad pursuing a directive from the BCCI.In response, the Bangladesh Cricket Board initially refused to contented a no-objection certificate for Mustafizur to enactment successful the IPL. Subsequently, the BCB wrote to the ICC requesting that Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup matches beryllium shifted to Sri Lanka, citing information concerns amid the escalating tensions betwixt the 2 countries.