Fatima Sana stays mum despite referee's toss blunder at India vs Pakistan in Women's World Cup; fans say ‘all are deaf?’

In a grave blunder, Fatima Sana stayed mum after match referee called ‘heads’ despite the Pakistan captain's ‘tails’ call during the coin toss against India in the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Koushik Paul
Updated5 Oct 2025, 05:25 PM IST
India's captain Harmanpreet Kaur tosses the coin as her Pakistani counterpart Fatima Sana watches ahead of the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 clash.
India's captain Harmanpreet Kaur tosses the coin as her Pakistani counterpart Fatima Sana watches ahead of the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 clash. (AFP)

In a major blunder during the high-voltage ICC Women's World Cup 2025 clash between India and Pakistan, Fatima Sana stayed mum to gain undue advantage after International Cricket Council (ICC) Shandre Fritz's toss blunder at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday. The incident took place during the coin toss.

As India's Harmanpreet Kaur flipped the coin, Sana clearly called for "tails" on the microphone. Surprisingly, Fritz called it "heads" on the mic. Despite noticing the blunder, Sana went with Fritz's call, to gain an early advantage, the video of which went viral. Even the moment slipped the broadcaster's eye, questioning the fairness of a cricket game.

Also Read | IND-W vs PAK-W Live Score: Harmanpreet departs, Harleen key for India

The correction didn't even get to Harmanpreet and toss presenter Mel Jones' notice. The incident didn't go well with the fans on social media as they expressed their frustration at the blunder.

Here's the IND vs PAK toss blunder: Watch video

Here's how the fans reacted

Fatima Sana wins toss and opt to bowl

Meanwhile, Sana opted to field first after winning the toss. India, who enjoy an 11-0 record over Pakistan in the ODI format, made a forced change to their playing eleven with Renuka Singh replacing an injured Amanjot Kaur. Pakistan replaced Omaima Sohali with Sadaf Shamas.

Also Read | Sana Mir continues in Women's World Cup 2025 despite ‘Azad Kashmir’ remark

On expected lines, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur did not shake hands with her Pakistan counterpart Sana during the toss, maintaining the trend set by the men's team in Asia Cup. The BCCI had conveyed the players to avoid customary handshake with members of the Pakistani team.

India vs Pakistan playing XIs

Pakistan: Muneeba Ali, Sadaf Shamas, Sidra Amin, Rameen Shamim, Aliya Riaz, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Fatima Sana(c), Natalia Pervaiz, Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal.

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

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