New Delhi: The Indian women’s cricket team continued its ‘no handshake’ policy during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup clash against arch-rivals Pakistan at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Sunday.At the time of the toss, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Pakistan captain Fatima Sana did not shake hands, continuing a trend adopted in recent India-Pakistan cricket matches.After India registered a resounding 64-run win over Pakistan, Pakistan head coach Wahab Riaz was asked about the absence of handshake during the post-match press conference.“I’m sorry to ask, but we noticed no handshakes again today. What is the relationship like between the players and staff of the two different teams? Are you friendly backstage, or is it just cold?” a reporter asked Riaz.The former Pakistan fast bowler, who represented his country in 27 Tests, 91 ODIs and 36 T20Is, replied:“Look, I don’t know. I left cricket a long time ago, so I don’t know the reason for not shaking hands. But I think if things want to go that way, then let’s go that way. It won’t make a big difference.”

India vs Pakistan ‘no-handshake’ policy

There has been a ‘no handshake’ stance between the Indian and Pakistani teams since the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor conducted by the Indian Armed Forces last year.This practice was first seen prominently when former India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav avoided shaking hands during the Asia Cup in Dubai.Since then, Indian teams have largely maintained their toss timing and post-match policy against Pakistan.A similar scene was seen during the Women’s ODI World Cup match in Colombo earlier this year, where Harmanpreet and Fatima also did not shake hands.Speaking on the eve of India’s inaugural T20 World Cup, Harmanpreet kept her focus solely on cricket.Harmanpreet had said, “I think we are here for cricket, and we only talk about cricket, except that we don’t talk about anything else. Cricket has been our dream since day one, and we only discuss cricket and tomorrow’s game.”India have been placed in Group A along with Pakistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Netherlands and South Africa. Harmanpreet Kaur’s team will next face the Netherlands on June 17 at Headingley, Leeds.