What BCB said in explaining why captains didn't shake hands in Bangladesh–India match
During the toss for the India-Bangladesh match in the U-19 World Cup in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, today, Saturday, the captains of the two teams did not shake hands.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) stated in a press release that the incident was unintentional.
Feeling slightly unwell, Bangladesh U-19 captain Azizul Hakim did not go for the toss.
Bangladesh U-19 vice-captain Zawad Abrar participated in the toss with India U-19 captain Ayush Mhratre.
Shaking hands after the toss is one of the age-old traditions of cricket, but on this occasion, Zawad and Ayush did not shake hands.
The event quickly made headlines, prompting the BCB to issue a press release by 8pm.
It explained the lack of a handshake as follows: "Due to illness, regular captain Azizul Hakim was unable to be present at the toss, so vice-captain Zawad Abrar represented the team. The BCB wants to clarify that the failure to handshake with the opposing captain was completely unintentional and due to momentary oversight. There was no intention to show any rudeness or disrespect to the opposition."
The press release further stated, "The board has taken the matter with appropriate seriousness because maintaining the spirit of cricket and respecting the opposition is a fundamental requirement at any level of representing Bangladesh. The team management has been immediately given necessary instructions in this regard. Also, players have been reminded of their responsibility to maintain the highest level of sportsmanship, goodwill, and mutual respect in all interactions with the opposing team."
This age-group global tournament match between the two teams took place at a time when relations between these two countries are cool.
Due to security concerns in India, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has decided not to play in the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled to start in India and Sri Lanka on 7 February.
All of Bangladesh's group stage matches have been scheduled to be held in India. Security issues for Bangladeshis became a topic of discussion again after Mustafizur Rahman was dropped from the IPL due to threats from extremists in India.
Subsequently, the BCB sent two letters to the ICC requesting their matches in the T20 World Cup be moved out of India due to security concerns. The matter is yet to be resolved.
Many have compared the incident of the two captains not shaking hands in the Bangladesh-India match to the India-Pakistan match at the Asia Cup in September.
Before the first group stage match in the Asia Cup, India had informed the match referee in advance that the Indian captain would not shake hands with the Pakistani captain at the toss.
After the match, Indian players would not shake hands with Pakistani players.
After the match, India captain Suryakumar Yadav cited the military conflict between India and Pakistan as the reason for not shaking hands at a press conference.
India continued with this ''no handshake'' policy in the subsequent two matches against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, which led to a heated debate at the time.