No handshake in India vs Pakistan cricket match today in T20 World Cup 2026: Report

India and Pakistan will not engage in handshakes during the T20 World Cup game, PTI reports, citing sources. The report comes after India captain Suryakumar Yadav refused to give a clear answer to reporters ahead of the IND-PAK match.

“Why are you highlighting that? We are here to play cricket. We will play good cricket. We will take all those calls tomorrow. We will see tomorrow,” SKY said ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 clash.

When asked about the same, Pakistani captain Salman Ali Agha said it was up to the Men in Blue.

“The game should be played in real spirit, the way it has been played since it started. The rest is up to them (India), what they want to do,” he said ahead of the India-Pakistan match.

“We don’t have a good record against them in World Cups. But, whenever you come to play a new match, it’s a new day, and you have to play good cricket to win,” he said.

“You can’t change history. You can learn from it. We learned from it, and we’ll try to do a good performance tomorrow and win the match,” the Pakistan captain added.

Sanjay Manjrekar on India's no-handshake policy

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has called India’s no-handshake policy with Pakistan ‘silly’. His social media post came ahead of the IND vs PAK T20 World Cup 2026 match on 15 February. The post has garnered strong reactions on social media.

“This ‘no shaking hands’ is such a silly thing that India has started. It’s unbecoming of a nation like ours. Either play properly within the spirit of the game or don’t play at all,” Manjrejar wrote.

Former PAK player on handshake

While the cricketing world will see how Suryakumar Yadav and his Pakistani counterpart, Salman Ali Agha, will act during the toss, former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali says there shouldn’t be any handshakes.

“I have never shaken hands. I never had this habit. I simply have no interest in it. When I was coaching, I wondered what was the need for a handshake. You lose and then go to shake hands, why?” he said on the YouTube podcast The Game Plan.

“They say it is the spirit of the game. I don’t believe in that. If I were the head coach of the Pakistan team, I would have asked my players not to shake hands. Even if the ICC says so, they should not do a handshake,” he added.