A similar situation was witnessed in the Women’s World Cup 2025 match between India and Pakistan, where the handshake issue in a cricketing world cup came up. The captains of both teams, Harmanpreet Kaur and Fatima Sana were at the toss in Colombo but did not shake hands.
Fatima was the winner of the toss, and so she approached the presenter and left without any interaction or exchange of handshakes and team sheets. The incident soon gained publicity, which further fueled the existing tension between the two rivals.
The issue of hand shake between India and Pakistan teams has been the matter of attention during several months. Indian men team in the Asia Cup 2025 did not shake hands with Pakistan in the three matches and the final one was not an exception. Captains Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Ali Agha did not show the usual courtsies of shaking hands before and after matches, and this resulted in criticism and complaints.
This appears to have become the case in women cricket. The tension was felt again, just before their World Cup match. In the team front, Pakistan introduced Sadaf Shamas to their team and India introduced Renuka Singh Thakur. Pakistan captain Fatima Sana decided to bowl first so that she could exploit the conditions in favor of her team.
“We’re going to bowl first, looks like there could be some moisture on the wicket. One change for us – Sadaf Shamas replaces Omaima Sohail – our confidence is great, hopefully we’ll play better today. Anything under 250 could be a good chase,” said Sana at the toss.
Kaur said: “We played a good series here before the WC. We’re thinking positively and are looking to do well. One unfortunate change – Amanjot isn’t playing (she’s ill), Renuka Thakur replaces her. We’ve gelled well as a team and looking forward to today’s contest.”
Women’s World Cup: India and Pakistan Squads
India Women:
Pratika Rawal, Smriti Mandhana, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Renuka Singh Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani
Pakistan Women:
Muneeba Ali, Sadaf Shamas, Sidra Amin, Rameen Shamim, Aliya Riaz, Sidra Nawaz(w), Fatima Sana(c), Natalia Pervaiz, Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal
