T20 World Cup: Suryakumar Yadav Continues ‘No Handshake’ Tradition With Pakistan Skipper At Colombo Toss

Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav maintained the ongoing ‘no handshake’ stance with Pakistan as he did not extend his hand to Pakistan skipper Salman Agha during the toss ahead of their Group A clash in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday.

The high-profile encounter between the two arch-rivals is being played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Pakistan won the toss and opted to field first in what is one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament.

The continuation of the ‘no handshake’ tradition dates back to rising tensions between the two nations following the attack in Pahalgam in April last year. Since then, the senior Indian men’s cricket team has refrained from shaking hands with Pakistan players before or after matches. The trend began during the Asia Cup 2025 trilogy and has carried forward into subsequent India-Pakistan fixtures in ICC and Asian Cricket Council tournaments, including the Asia Cup Rising Stars and the Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

At the toss, Pakistan captain Salman Agha explained the decision to bowl first. “We want to bowl first. It looks a bit tacky, so we feel it will assist the bowlers for the first few overs, so we want to use that. We are relaxed in our group and excited for this challenge. Bigger ground than SSC, and the pitch is slower than SSC. Same team for us.”

Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav said his side was prepared to bat first and was confident in their approach. “Not at all, we were looking to bat first. We won the last two games defending, so we don’t want to change it. It is an occasion, it’s a high-stakes game. This sport teaches you a lot of things, any side can win the game on a given day. Two changes. Abhishek Sharma comes in, and Kuldeep Yadav is in for Arshdeep Singh.”

India and Pakistan have met eight times in T20 World Cup history, with India winning seven of those encounters, while Pakistan have secured one victory.

India Playing XI: Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.

Pakistan Playing XI: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (captain), Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq.