No Handshake Again: Harmanpreet Kaur and Fatima Sana Skip Handshake in Women’s World Cup Clash

An important match between India and Pakistan is taking place at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo as part of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025. After winning the toss, Pakistan chose to bowl first. Each team's lineup has undergone one change. Amanjot is not playing for India in this match; instead, Renuka Singh has been added. However, Pakistan has also made a change; Sadaf Shamas has been added to the squad, and Omaima Sohail will not be playing today.

When India Women's captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Pakistan Women's captain Fatima Sana failed to shake hands before the toss before Match No. 6 of the ICC Women's World Cup 2025, which was played on October 5, 2025, at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, the ongoing handshake issue in cricket took a new turn.

Harmanpreet Kaur and Fatima Sana Avoid Handshake:

Controversy at #WomensWorldCup2025!
During the #IndiaVsPakistan match, 🇮🇳 captain Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar refused to shake hands with 🇵🇰 captain Fatima Sana Khan at the toss.

⚖️ While unsportsmanlike, this is not a violation of ICC rules, though some argue it goes against the… pic.twitter.com/RglTA7kxm4

— KhilariTak (@khilaritak) October 5, 2025

Together with the match referee and presenter, both captains attended the toss. Fatima Sana talked to the presenter after winning the toss, but neither captain shook hands or handed out team papers before departing the room, which rekindled conversations about the ongoing hostility between the two sides.

Harmanpreet behaved similarly to Suryakumar Yadav, the captain of India's men's T20 team, who refrained from extending a greeting to the Pakistani team at the recent Asia Cup 2025. The Indian women's team is now participating in this event with a similar attitude. Following a terror attack in Pahalgam earlier this year in April, which increased political tension between the two countries, India initiated "Operation Sindoor." The men's and women's teams from India are expressing their solidarity with the victims and their families impacted by that terrible event.

IND W vs PAK W Playing XI:

India Women: Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (w), Pratika Rawal, Smriti Mandhana, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Renuka Singh Thakur, Kranti Gaud, and Shree Charani

Pakistan Women: Fatima Sana (c), Natalia Pervaiz, Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal, Sadaf Shamas, Sidra Amin, Rameen Shamim, Aliya Riaz, and Sidra Nawaz (w)

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