{"id":476043,"date":"2026-02-12T23:03:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T23:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/476043\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T23:03:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T23:03:10","slug":"t20-world-cup-how-india-vs-pakistan-relations-went-from-bad-to-worse-icc-mens-t20-world-cup-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/476043\/","title":{"rendered":"T20 World Cup: How India vs Pakistan relations went from bad to worse | ICC Men’s T20 World Cup News"},"content":{"rendered":"

When India and Pakistan meet in the T20 World Cup on Sunday, the match will not just be significant for its on-field cricket action but also the political climate that has shrouded the encounter and the tournament itself.<\/p>\n

The South Asian nations share a decades-old history of wars and hostile relations. The most recent encounter<\/a> came in May 2025, when the nuclear-armed neighbours were engaged in a four-day cross-border conflict.<\/p>\n

Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list<\/p>\n

This 78-year-old bitter history has fuelled the sporting rivalry, which has \u2013 at times \u2013 led to tournament boycotts, cancelled matches and ground invasions.<\/p>\n

Players from both teams have often been involved in heated encounters on the field, but have also publicly shared lighter moments off it.<\/p>\n

However, the lingering hostility of the last conflict has made a severe and long-term impact on cricket, which is the most widely followed sport in South Asia.<\/p>\n

We look back at the deteriorating cricket relations between India and Pakistan since the May conflict and the on-field events steeped in politics:<\/p>\n

September 14 \u2013 No handshake row<\/p>\n

The controversy<\/a> began when India\u2019s Suryakumar Yadav opted out of the customary pre-toss captains\u2019 handshake with Pakistan\u2019s Salman Ali Agha, prompting fans to wonder if politics were at play.<\/p>\n

The doubts were cleared at the end of the match when, after hitting the winning runs, Yadav and his batting partner Shivam Dube walked off the field without approaching the Pakistani captain and team for the traditional post-match handshakes.<\/p>\n

Pakistan\u2019s players trudged off in a group and waited for the Indian squad, but the Indian contingent only shook hands with each other before walking into their dressing room and shutting the door as the waiting Pakistan players looked on.<\/p>\n

Later, Yadav confirmed that his team had planned to not shake hands with Pakistani players all along, linking it to the April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that preceded the May conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cA few things in life are above sportsman\u2019s spirit,\u201d the 35-year-old said.<\/p>\n

\"India'sIndia\u2019s captain Suryakumar Yadav walks off after the toss as his Pakistan counterpart Salman Agha watches on before the start of their Asia Cup 2025 game [Sajjad Hussain\/AFP]September 17 \u2013 Pakistan refuse to take the field against UAE<\/p>\n

The fallout of the handshake row carried over into Pakistan\u2019s next group game in the Asia Cup, when they refused<\/a> to take the field against the UAE in protest against match referee Andy Pycroft.<\/p>\n

Pakistan insisted that Pycroft be removed from their fixture as he was the key official in the India match and helped carry out India\u2019s request that the captains not shake hands at the toss.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndy Pycroft had barred the captains of India and Pakistan from shaking hands during their match,\u201d the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The Pakistan-UAE match was delayed by an hour as negotiations took place behind closed doors, and Pycroft apologised for the \u201cmiscommunication\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Pakistan'sPakistan\u2019s captain Salman Agha and team manager Naveed Akram Cheema speak before the start of the match against the United Arab Emirates [File: Sajjad Hussain\/AFP]September 21 \u2013 Players exchange heated words, make references to conflict<\/p>\n

When the teams met<\/a> for the second time in the Asia Cup, players from both sides were seen exchanging verbal blows in the middle of the pitch.<\/p>\n

Pakistan\u2019s Haris Rauf had a go at India\u2019s batter Abhishek Sharma, who later said his match-winning innings of 74 runs was a response to Pakistani players.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way they were coming at us without any reason, I didn\u2019t like it at all,\u201d Sharma said after the match.<\/p>\n

Rauf was also seen making gestures towards the Indian supporters while fielding on the boundary. He held up his hands to indicate the numbers six and zero, a reference to Pakistan\u2019s claim<\/a> of downing six Indian jets during the May conflict.<\/p>\n

The fast bowler also made gestures indicating an aircraft nosediving into the ground.<\/p>\n

Following the match, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) lodged a complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) against Rauf and Pakistani batter Sahibzada Farhan, who marked his half-century with a mock gun celebration.<\/p>\n

Pakistan, too, lodged a complaint against India\u2019s captain Yadav for using his post-match press comments to mention the Indian missile attacks in Pakistan.<\/p>\n

\"Pakistan'sPakistan\u2019s Haris Rauf speaks with India\u2019s Abhishek Sharma, second left, as Shubman Gill watches during the Asia Cup match [File: Sajjad Hussain\/AFP]September 28 \u2013 India refuse to receive trophy from Pakistani official<\/p>\n

The controversial tournament peaked in the final when India, who beat Pakistan by five wickets, refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy\u00a0because it was presented by Mohsin Naqvi, who is the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president as well as the chairman of the PCB.<\/p>\n

Naqvi is also Pakistan\u2019s federal interior minister.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have decided not to take the Asia Cup trophy from the ACC chairman, who happens to be one of the main [political] leaders of Pakistan,\u201d Devajit Saikia, the chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said.<\/p>\n

The final award presentation was delayed by more than an hour due to India\u2019s refusal and Naqvi\u2019s insistence on presenting the trophy. The Indian team celebrated by pretending to hold a trophy.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s captain Yadav added it was the team\u2019s decision to refuse the trophy and \u201cno one told us to do it\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"India'sIndia\u2019s captain Suryakumar Yadav pretends to hold the trophy as his team celebrates their victory at the end of the Asia Cup 2025 final [File: Sajjad Hussain\/AFP]October 5 \u2013 Handshake row hits Women\u2019s Cricket World Cup<\/p>\n

When India and Pakistan faced<\/a> off at the ICC Women\u2019s World Cup 2025 in Sri Lanka, the Indian women\u2019s team followed the precedent set by the men\u2019s side by not offering to shake hands with the opposition.<\/p>\n

\"India'sIndia\u2019s captain Harmanpreet Kaur and her Pakistani counterpart Fatima Sana walk past each other after the toss at their ICC Women\u2019s Cricket World Cup 2025 match in Sri Lanka [Ishara S Kodikara\/AFP]November 4 \u2013 ICC sanctions Indian and Pakistani players for on-field behaviour<\/p>\n

Five weeks after the conclusion of the Asia Cup, the ICC said Rauf, Farhan and Yadav had been found guilty of breaching its code of conduct and bringing the game into disrepute.<\/p>\n

Yadav and Rauf were fined 30 percent of their match fees from the September 14 match and received two demerit points each, while Farhan walked away with a warning and one demerit point.<\/p>\n

Rauf was found guilty of the same offence in the final and handed the same punishment, which led to a two-match ban on him.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who displayed a plane-crashing celebration of his own in the final, was also found guilty and handed one demerit point.<\/p>\n

\"India'sJasprit Bumrah celebrates the wicket of Haris Rauf during the Asia Cup final [Altaf Qadri\/AP]January 25 \u2013 Pakistan casts doubt on T20 World Cup participation<\/p>\n

Following Bangladesh\u2019s ouster<\/a> from the T20 World Cup, Pakistan said it would reconsider its own presence at the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe prime minister is not in Pakistan right now. When he returns, I\u2019ll be able to give you our final decision,\u201d PCB chief Naqvi said.<\/p>\n

February 1 \u2013 Pakistan announces boycott of India match<\/p>\n

In an unprecedented decision at a World Cup, Pakistan\u2019s government said its team would not take the field against India on February 15.<\/p>\n

A few days later, Pakistan\u2019s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif revealed the move was an act of solidarity with Bangladesh.<\/p>\n

February 9 \u2013 Pakistan reverses boycott<\/p>\n

More than a week later, Pakistan reversed its decision and said its cricket team had been ordered to take the field in the match on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Pakistan\u2019s government said it had \u201creviewed formal requests extended by the Bangladesh Cricket Board, as well as the supporting communications from Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, and other member nations\u201d, which sought \u201ca viable solution to recent challenges\u201d, referring to its decision to boycott the game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When India and Pakistan meet in the T20 World Cup on Sunday, the match will not just be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476044,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[1724,64,63,740,74733,1209,44,15299,588,85],"class_list":["post-476043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-asia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-icc-mens-t20-world-cup","tag-india","tag-news","tag-pakistan","tag-sport","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}