Tensions between India and Bangladesh were apparent on Saturday when both sides skipped the customary handshake between captains during the toss of an U-19 World Cup match in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Bangladesh interim captain Zawad Abrar and Indian captain Ayush Mhatre did not do the usual handshake during the pre-match toss, which the former won.
Based in Dhaka Prothom Alo reported that it was “unclear which team decided not to follow the handshake tradition.”
It is worth mentioning that Indian cricketers had refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts during last year’s Asia Cup matches, in the aftermath of a military conflict between the two countries.
Saturday’s development comes as Bangladesh announcement that he will not play his T20 World Cup matches in India after his player Mustafizur Rahman was released by his Indian Premier League (IPL) team.
Mustafizur, who played in the IPL for other teams in previous editions, was bought at auction in December by Kolkata for over $1 million. His dismissal sparked fury in Dhaka.
Subsequently, Bangladesh “formally requested” the International Cricket Council to move its games to Sri Lanka.
Earlier this week, in a video conference with the ICC, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said it had “reiterated its request to the ICC to consider relocating Bangladesh’s matches outside India”.
Political relations between India and Bangladesh had deteriorated after a mass uprising in Dhaka in 2024 toppled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a close ally of New Delhi.
India’s foreign ministry last month condemned what it called “unrelenting hostility against minorities” in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, accused India of exaggerating the scale of the violence.
