The Indian and Pakistani cricket captains refused to shake hands at the coin toss before the T20 World Cup showdown on Sunday.
Pakistan’s captain Salman Agha had previously said he would leave it up to India’s players to decide if they were to shake hands with his team before and after their T20 World Cup match.
However, India’s Suryakumar Yadav and Agha walked away from each other without making physical contact.
The move comes amid political and military tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours who were on the brink of all-out war in May 2025.
Sunday’s match in Colombo, Sri Lanka, will be the first time the teams have met since an acrimonious clash last September at the Asia Cup tournament in the United Arab Emirates, won by India.
On that occasion, players also refused to shake hands.
Pakistan captain Agha said: “The game should be played in real spirit, the way it has been played since it started.
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“The rest is up to them (India), what they want to do.”
He added: “We are here to play cricket. We will play good cricket. We will take all those calls tomorrow. We will see tomorrow (Sunday).”
Heightened tensions mean the two sides have not played a bilateral series in years.
Last May, the two nations clashed in the worst fighting in decades after a terror attack in India-administered Kashmir killed 26 civilians, mostly Hindu tourists.
Days of missile strikes between the countries followed, until a ceasefire was brokered by the US administration.
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Pakistan’s government threatened to boycott Sunday’s match after Bangladesh were kicked out of the World Cup for refusing to play matches in India, citing security concerns.
It was only after intense discussions with the International Cricket Council that Pakistan finally agreed.
India’s team have not travelled to Pakistan since 2008 and Pakistan’s team have not visited India since 2023, but the teams have played ICC tournaments at neutral venues.
India have defeated Pakistan 12 times in the 16 T20 games they have played.
“We don’t have a good record against them in World Cups,” Agha added.
He said: “But whenever you come to play a new match, it’s a new day and you have to play good cricket to win.
“You can’t change history. You can learn from it.”
