When Handshakes Stop: Cricket’s Most Controversial No-Handshake Moments

From Asia Cup 2025 to IPL 2023, cricket has seen several high-profile no-handshake incidents. Explore the most controversial moments in cricket history where players refused handshakes as a form of protest or defiance.

Cricket Handshake Controvery (Image Source: Google)

In the recent months, a lot of discussion has taken place on the controversial absence of handshakes (at the toss as well as post match), on the cricket field. This all started with the Group A clash between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025. The captains viz Pakistan’s Salman Agha and India’s Suryakumar Yadav continued with it during the next stage matches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

This generated so much heat that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took it to the ICC and even demanded the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft from the tournament (duly rejected). Since then the ‘no handshake’ has passed on to the women and under 19 teams of both the arch rival nations. Will they shake hands at Colombo this time?

During all the discussion on the handshake (or the non-handshake), it was generally perceived that cricket is seeing a controversy on this issue for the first time. The fact is that on many occasions, cricket non-handshakes have been used as expressions of non-agreement.

* The low point of the 1995/96 Australian summer was Sri Lankan player’s refusal to shake Mark Taylor’s hand after the second World Series Cup final in Sydney.

On January 20, 1996, while batting the Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga had a cramp and requested for a runner but was then sledged by the Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy (picked by the stump microphone) ‘You don't get a runner for being overweight, fat, c**t’. The Aussies protested saying the ‘slowest runner’ was being unfairly replaced by ‘lightning fast’ Sanath Jayasuriya.

Not only this, after getting out, Warne abused him. A furious Ranatunga found the treatment meted out abhorrent and instructed the Sri Lankan team to not shake hands with Australia after the match. This is termed as the most notorious no-handshake incident.

 

*In February 2023, during the ICC's Cricket World Cup League 2 series played in Kirtipur, Nepal between Nepal, Scotland and Namibia, the flashpoint was the presence of Sandeep Lamichhane in the Nepal team as he was facing charges of sexual coercion, although out on bail and cleared to play. Namibia started it and post –game, their players chose to fist-bump all Nepal's players (including Lamichhane), refusing to shake hands . Scotland cricketers, after playing against the hosts, shook hands with every other Nepal player after the game, but straightway refused to be cordial with Lamichhane. The rape conviction was quashed on appeal in 2024.

 

* IPL 2023 witnessed two ugly incidents. On April 23, after a match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Delhi Capitals (DC), Virat Kohli and DC's director of cricket Sourav Ganguly did not greet each other and walked off straightaway. After the 'no-handshake' , Kohli un-followed Ganguly on social media and the former BCCI President Ganguly very soon responded similarly. Everyone knew that Virat was annoyed with him as Virat was sacked as ODI captain while Ganguly was the BCCI President.

Then after a few days, Virat was again involved as his ‘handshake’ with the LSG cricketer, Naveen-ul-Haq (They were involved in a verbal spat during the 1 May match) flared into a glare-off. The LSG skipper KL Rahul tried to mediate but failed to stop them and when the LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir, the situation aggravated more.

 

*In November 2023 Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews became the first player to be timed out in international cricket, during Sri Lanka's World Cup group match with Bangladesh in Delhi, although Mathews was already on the pitch but had issues with his helmet strap, before taking the strike. Post-match, Sri Lanka’s players refused to shake hands with Bangladesh players for their ‘un–ethical’ appeal to get Mathews out.

Then above all, who can forget the handshake refused by the Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar duo. At Old Trafford last year, with Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar nearing their Test hundreds, the England captain Ben Stokes offered to call off the match after a draw was imminent and how was this conveyed? Stokes stretched his arm and they refused to shake his d hand. It precipitated some bad blood.