India’s alleged practice of politicising cricket has once again come under criticism after an unusual incident occurred during the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, where the Indian captain did not shake hands with the Bangladeshi captain at the toss.
For the first time in the history of an ICC event, both captains refrained from a handshake during the toss ceremony, drawing widespread attention.
The incident was seen as part of the ongoing tensions between India and Bangladesh, marked by a series of recent developments.
The strained relations intensified after demands emerged in India to remove Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, following which the franchise released the player from its squad.
In response, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to send its team to India and formally demanded a neutral venue from the ICC.
When the ICC decided to send a two-member delegation to Bangladesh for talks, the Bangladeshi government initially declined to issue a visa to Indian official Gaurav Saxena, who was part of the delegation, before later granting approval.
Observers note that the trend of avoiding handshakes began last year during the Asia Cup T20, when Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav refused to shake hands with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha at the toss. The gesture was again avoided after the match.
During that tournament, Pakistan and India faced each other three times, and on all occasions, captains and players from both sides did not exchange handshakes.
Similar scenes were witnessed in the Rising Star event and the Under-19 Asia Cup, where players from Pakistan and India also avoided handshakes, despite athletes from both countries continuing to exchange greetings in other sporting disciplines.
The repeated incidents have raised concerns among cricket analysts, who believe such actions risk undermining the spirit of sportsmanship traditionally upheld in international cricket.
