The continuing handshake dispute in cricket took another turn on October 5, 2025, when India Women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Pakistan Women’s captain Fatima Sana
Refused to shake hands before the toss ahead of Match No. 6 of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
The toss was attended by both captains, as well as the match referee and presenter. After winning the toss, Fatima Sana chatted with the presenter, but neither captain exchanged a handshake or team sheets before departing the area, reigniting discussions about the two sides’ ongoing antagonism.
The handshake controversy has been a recurring subject in recent months, involving the Indian and Pakistani teams. During the Asia Cup 2025, the Indian men’s team refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts in all three matches – the group stage, Super Four, and final. On each occasion, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha skipped the traditional toss and post-match handshake, eliciting significant criticism and official complaints.
The same trend appears to have emerged in the women’s game, highlighting the growing off-field tensions between the two cricketing nations. In the match itself, Pakistan made one change, inserting Sadaf Shamas into the starting lineup, while India replaced Amanjot Kaur with Renuka Singh Thakur. Fatima Sana chose to bowl first, intending to take advantage of the conditions early on and score two points for 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.”
Playing XI:
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
India
