India's seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Asia Cup this month was overshadowed by the absence of the customary post-match handshake. Players from both sides collected their kit and headed for the tunnel without the usual exchange of pleasantries, prompting #Handshakegate to trend online and drawing a formal complaint from the Pakistan Cricket Board to the Asian Cricket Council.
India officials responded that handshakes are a custom, not a law, and a match referee soon found himself in the headlines. India again kept their hands in their pockets in their next match on Sunday. India's captain, Suryakumar Yadav, said the snub was a consequence of recent border tensions between the two nuclear powers, following a militant attack in India-administered Kashmir in April that killed 26 civilians. India blamed Pakistan and launched a counterstrike, with fighter planes shot down and holy sites damaged.
The handshake has long carried symbolic weight in cricket, representing respect and closure beyond the result. From the 1960 tied Test between Australia and West Indies, when Richie Benaud and Frank Worrell came together, to cricket diplomacy efforts in 1987 and 2011, the gesture has often stood for something more than mere formality. In a memorable Ashes encounter, Andrew Flintoff was photographed consoling Brett Lee after England's two-run win at Edgbaston, an image that captured the spirit of cricket in a single frame.
A series of other handshake controversies have emerged in 2023. Scotland refused post-match handshakes with Nepal's Sandeep Lamichhane while he faced sexual-coercion charges, and Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq's IPL handshake flared into a glare-off that drew fines before the pair reconciled during the World Cup in October. More recently, Sri Lanka's players declined to shake hands with Bangladesh after Angelo Mathews became the first batter to be timed out at a one-day World Cup.
