The captains of the Indian and Bangladesh under-19 teams abstained from exchanging customary handshakes at the toss ahead of the match between the two sides at the Under 19 World Cup. The development comes amid cricket ties between the two countries taking a hit after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ousted Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League (IPL) citing “recent developments”. India are being captained by Ayush Mhatre while Bangladesh vice-captain Zawad Abrar stood in at the toss. Neither side has made a statement on the incident yet. India already have an unofficial no-handshake policy against Pakistan, which started with the senior men’s team captain Suryakumar Yadav at the Asia Cup late last year and then spread to women’s cricket and at the men’s u19 level. Three-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) released Mustafizur on January 3 after having bought him for Rs 9.5 crore in the auction ahead of the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in December. Delhi Capitals had opened the bidding for the 30-year-old, and Chennai Super Kings challenged, with Mustafizur having turned out for both sides in the past. KKR entered the fray at Rs 5.4 crore and then managed to keep CSK at bay. Since then KKR and their co-owner, Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, came under intense criticism on social media and by politicians for signing the Mustafizur, linking it to reports of attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh in recent weeks. KKR’s statement announcing the release of Mustafizur on January 3 came hours after BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said in a statement that the board will be instructing the franchise to do so. “Due to the recent developments that are going on all across, BCCI has instructed the franchise KKR to release one of their players, Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh, from their squad,” Saikia told the news agency ANI. “BCCI has also said that if they ask for any replacement, BCCI is going to allow that replacement.”
U19 World Cup: India, Bangladesh captains avoid handshake at toss
