India and Pakistan clashed at Dubai on September 14 in Asia Cup 2025.
Following the Pahalgam terror assault in April of this year, the position was associated with a great deal of political animosity between the two countries. A BCCI source, however, gave a new twist to the issue, pointing out that Suryakumar's act was not unique to Pakistan.
It is more of a tradition than a regulation for two captains to shake hands following the toss in any competitive match. However, neither captain made eye contact or offered to shake hands on Sunday.
Suryakumar and Salman handed in their team sheets to match referee Andy Pycroft after Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first. They then chatted with TV commentator Ravi Shastri, who was in charge of the toss, before returning to their respective dugouts.
The cricket community was not happy with the proceedings between the two captains; however, a BCCI source with knowledge of the situation said that Suryakumar did not shake hands with the UAE on Wednesday during the Asia Cup 2025 opener.
"Every tournament has its own set of rules and regulations. There are tournaments where protocol demands that one needs to shake hands at the toss. For the record, Suryakumar Yadav didn't shake hands with UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem during the last match's toss either," the source told PTI.
This was the first men's international cricket match between India and Pakistan since the Pahalgam attack in April this year, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians. A military confrontation between the two countries ensued after the incident.
India's new sports policy, which went into effect last month, prohibited hosting Pakistani athletes in India, traveling to Pakistan, and holding bilateral tournaments with Pakistan. Multi-nation competitions, however, were not subject to these limitations.