India captain Suryakumar Yadav and his Pakistan counterpart Salman Agha did not shake hands during the coin toss of the T20 World Cup match in Colombo on Sunday.
Agha won the toss and elected to play in the Group A match, which was only confirmed six days ago when the Pakistani government made a U-turn over its threat to boycott the match.
Suryakumar also did not shake Agha’s hand in any of the three Asian Cup matches in Dubai last year, including the final.
World cricket’s biggest and most lucrative battle is in doubt after Bangladesh refused to host T20 World Cup matches in India and was kicked out and replaced by Scotland.
The Pakistani government protested and responded by ordering its team to boycott India’s game in Sri Lanka, which co-hosts the tournament.
Cricket teams from nuclear-armed neighbors are meeting in multinational tournaments only at neutral venues as part of a compromise agreement.
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Excitation
It has been over 18 years since India and Pakistan last met in a Test match and 13 years since both sides crossed the border to play a bilateral series.