India and Pakistan captains Ayush Mhatre and Farhan Yousaf skipped the customary handshake at the toss during their crucial Super 6 Group 2 clash of the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2026 in Bulawayo. The incident adds to a growing trend in India-Pakistan cricket encounters amid ongoing political tensions
Ayush Mhatre (L) and Farhan Yousaf (R). File Pic/Instagram
India and Pakistan captains skipped the customary handshake at the toss during the Super 6 Group 2 match of the ongoing ICC Under-19 World Cup 2026 on Sunday.
India U-19 team captain Ayush Mhatre and Pakistan skipper Farhan Yousaf completed the toss formalities without the traditional handshake.
Notably, no handshake during the toss for the India-Pakistan cricket matches has become a regular sight ever since India's T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav, refused to shake hands with his Pakistan counterpart during the 2025 Asia Cup, amid escalating political tensions between India and Pakistan.
The trend persisted as the India A team refused to shake hands with Pakistan Shaheens in the Asia Cup Rising Stars 2025 match, and now the same happened during the Under-19 World Cup clash between both teams.
In the U-19 match, Pakistan Under-19 won the toss and opted to bowl first against India in a crucial Super 6 Group 2 match.
With the clash serving as the last group-stage fixture, both India and Pakistan are vying for a spot in the semi-final, and the match is a must-win for both Asian teams.
Australia and Afghanistan have qualified for the semifinal from Super Six Group 1, while England has qualified from Super Six Group 2.
With England already through from Group 2, only one spot remains up for grabs.
India sit second in the group with three wins from as many matches and a net run rate of +3.337, while Pakistan are third with two wins from three games and a net run rate of +1.484.
A victory over India would level Pakistan on points with India at six, but they would need a big-margin win to surpass India's superior net run rate. For the Ayush Mhatre-led India, a win will suffice. Notably, India are unbeaten in the tournament.
India vs Pakistan Under-19 match playing 11s:
India U-19 playing 11: Aaron George, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre(c), Vihaan Malhotra, Abhigyan Kundu(w), Vedant Trivedi, RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan Patel, Henil Patel, Deepesh Devendran.
Pakistan U-19 playing 11: Hamza Zahoor(w), Sameer Minhas, Usman Khan, Ahmed Hussain, Farhan Yousaf(c), Huzaifa Ahsan, Ali Hassan Baloch, Abdul Subhan, Momin Qamar, Mohammad Sayyam, Ali Raza.
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