Dubai: India skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha once again refrained from engaging in the customary tradition of shaking hands before the toss in the Super Fours clash at the ongoing Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday. Throughout the toss, the duo didn't exchange glances with each other while avoiding each other.

After Suryakumar won the toss and finished explaining the reason behind his decision to field and the couple of changes they made, he turned away and went to join his team. This is the second time the two captains have not shaken hands in the tournament.

During the group-stage encounter between the two neighbouring nations, Suryakumar and Salman turned heads by not engaging in the traditional handshake during the toss. During the toss, neither skipper maintained eye contact nor tried to initiate a handshake and eschewed the gesture.

India's stance was linked to the strained relations between the two nations in the wake of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, during which 26 tourists were killed on April 22 by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists.

During the post-match presentation, Pakistan captain Salman Agha was nowhere to be seen, a move that raised questions.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) held match referee Andy Pycroft accountable for the entire fiasco and asked for his immediate removal. However, to Pakistan's angst, the International Cricket Council (ICC) didn't entertain the plea.

In reply, Pakistan threatened to boycott their must-win fixture against the UAE and cancelled the pre-match press conference for the contest as well. Pakistan players arrived late at the Dubai International Stadium, forcing the game against the UAE to be delayed by one hour on Wednesday.

Pakistan management met Pycroft before the toss and then shared a muted video of the meeting, which led to heavy backlash. Pakistan continued with its pattern of cancelling the pre-match presser on Saturday before taking on India. Despite all the ruckus, Pycroft is still standing in as the match referee on Sunday.

ANI