India captain Yadav dodges question regarding handshakes with Pakistan players
COLOMBO: India captain Suryakumar Yadav dodged the question regarding the potential resumption of customary handshakes with arch-rivals Pakistan in their blockbuster meeting at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday.
India and Pakistan cricketers have not been involved in any customary interaction since their group-stage ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 match in Dubai last year. The controversy erupted at the toss for the aforementioned fixture when Yadav avoided his Pakistan counterpart Agha, and later at the conclusion of the match, he, alongside Shivam Dube, stormed back to the pavilion after scoring the winning runs.
The fierce rivals came face-to-face two more times in the continental tournament, but customary handshakes remained absent. The controversial practice did not remain limited to the senior men’s cricket teams as the fierce rivals also avoided customary handshakes during their ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup meeting, as well as in the ACC Men’s Asia Cup Rising Stars Championship, U19 Asia Cup and most recently the U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Meanwhile, Pakistan men’s cricket team’s captain in the shortest format, Agha, who openly criticised India for sabotaging the spirit of the game following the Asia Cup 2025, has expressed his hope for the revival of the customary handshakes between the two rivals in the upcoming fixture.
“The game should be played in the true spirit of the game. It has been the norm in cricket for years, but whatever way they want, we will only know tomorrow,” Agha said at the pre-match press conference earlier today. Consequently, when India captain Yadav came out to address the pre-match press conference on the eve of the blockbuster Group A game, he was questioned about India’s stance on customary handshakes with Pakistan counterparts.
The 35-year-old, however, avoided directly answering the question and instead called for patience. He further stressed that the upcoming fixture was more important than handshakes.
“Wait for 24 hours. Eat well, sleep well, we will see tomorrow,” Yadav told reporters. “Let’s break the suspense tomorrow. I just spoke about it. What’s more important? You tell me. The game is important. Let’s play the match first. Whether the handshake happens at the toss or not, we will see that tomorrow. Let’s just wait 24 hours,” he added.
For the unversed, the upcoming fixture faced uncertainty after the Government of Pakistan publicly barred its national men’s cricket team from taking the field against India. The decision prompted several high-level negotiations, including an International Cricket Council (ICC) delegation’s visit to the country, following which the Pakistan government reversed its decision, giving the lucrative fixture a go-ahead.
Reflecting on the now-ended uncertainty, Yadav reiterated that he and his team were prepared to play all their matches at the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 and were thus solely focused on their training.
“We were prepared for all fixtures. We had to play a game against Pakistan on February 15. Our flights were booked for this game. We were prepared to play four league games. We were only focused on the preparation and what we needed to do.”
Contrary to his previous remarks at the Asia Cup 2025, in which Suryakumar Yadav had dismissed the tag of a rivalry between Pakistan and India in T20Is, the right-handed batter acknowledged the pressure of the game, which he described as an “occasion” and a “big platform”. “In my view, if you play any game, there is always pressure. And when you play an India-Pak game, it’s more about the occasion. It’s a big platform, obviously. So, no matter how much you say that it’s just another game, we want to play cricket. Back of the mind, it’s a human tendency that you know which game you are going to play,” Yadav stated.
“And we don’t play them often as well. We don’t even play them regularly. But at the end of the day, we try to keep things simple. Whatever hard work or practice we have done, we try to execute it in games. And we try to place our best foot forward on the ground,” he concluded. Web Desk
