Ayush Mhatre follows Suryakumar Yadav's footsteps as India, Bangladesh captains skip toss handshake at U-19 World Cup

The strained political relations between India and Bangladesh might have played a part in the ongoing ICC U-19 World Cup 2026 as the captains refrained from customary handshake at the coin toss at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Saturday. While India were represented by captain Ayush Mhatre at the toss, Bangladesh sent vice-captain Zawad Abrar.

During the toss, Mhatre and Abrar didn't shake hands before or after spinning the coin. However, none of the teams have made any official comment regarding the incident. The act of no handshake started last year during the Asia Cup 2025 when Indian senior men's team captain Suryakumar Yadav refused to shake hands with Pakistan's Salman Agha.

Suryakumar's act was in protest in the aftermath of Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. Since then. India's women's captain Harmanpreet Kaur too followed Suryakumar when they faced Pakistan in the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 in Colombo last year.

What is happening between India and Bangladesh?

The strained Indo-Bangla ties started when former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina flew to India after