Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh shook fingers with Pakistan bowler Shahnawaz Dahani through the Abu Dhabi T10 League. The Aspin Stallions captain exchanged pleasantries with Dahani after his group’s match in opposition to Northern Warriors on Wednesday, November 19, on the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
The handshake is notable amid strained India-Pakistan relations following the Pahalgam assault earlier this yr. Since then, Indian cricket groups, together with the senior males’s and girls’s squads, have largely averted handshakes with Pakistani gamers.
Earlier in 2025, Harbhajan, together with former stars Shikhar Dhawan, Yusuf and Irfan Pathan, and Suresh Raina, refused to play in opposition to Pakistan within the World Championship of LegendsCiting nationwide sentiment, they stated “blood and sweat can not co-exist” below tense political circumstances, Their boycott led to India Champions forfeiting the semi-final, permitting Pakistan to advance to the ultimate,
THE HANDSHAKE SAGA
The development of avoiding handshakes started through the Asia Cup, when Suryakumar Yadav’s India didn’t shake fingers with Salman Agha’s Pakistan. It continued within the Ladies’s World Cup, with Harmanpreet Kaur and Fatima Sana sustaining the handshake snub in Colombo, and once more through the Rising Stars Asia Cup match in Doha.
Nevertheless, gamers from either side did shake fingers after their match within the Ladies’s T20 World Cup for the Blind on November 16 on the BOI Cricket Stadium in Katunayake, Sri Lanka. India received comprehensively, and the groups, who had traveled collectively on the identical bus, exchanged transient congratulations. Pakistan captain Nimra Rafique acknowledged India’s victory, whereas India captain Deepika praised Pakistan for his or her effort.
Within the T10 League conflict, Northern Warriors narrowly defeated Aspin Stallions by 4 runs, posting 114 for one and defending it because the Stallions fell brief at 110 for seven. Shahnawaz Dahani starred for the Warriors, taking two important wickets for simply 10 runs and incomes Participant of the Match honours. Harbhajan Singh, captaining the Stallions, bowled one over for eight runs and was run out for one whereas batting.
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