The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has distanced itself from Bangladesh women’s team captain Nigar Sultana’s decision to not shake hands with Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur in the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 semi-final on Thursday. While Nigar Sultana did not shake hands with Harmanpreet during toss time, the BCB’s women’s committee chairman, Rafiqul Islam Babu, has clarified that the board did not have any say in the matter. Rafiqul called Sultana’s decision a purely personal choice, and reiterated that Bangladesh want to “maintain friendly relations with all countries”.
“Of course, it was her own decision (not to shake hands with Harmanpreet),” said Rafiqul, as quoted by Cricbuzz.
“We believe sports bring the world together. We want friendly relations with all countries, not just India and so whatever she did was entirely her personal decision,” he added.
The exact reason behind the handshake snub has not been made clear by Nigar Sultana or any member of the Bangladesh women’s cricket team.
In late 2025, diplomatic and cricket relations between India and Bangladesh turned frosty, and the BCCI instructed IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release their Bangladeshi player Mustafizur Rahman.
Following that, Bangladesh refused to travel to India for the T20 World Cup 2026, and were ultimately replaced by the ICC with Scotland.
However, sporting relations appear to be improving of late, ever since former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal took over as BCB president earlier this year.
India have not exchanged handshakes or post-match pleasantries with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack in India’s Jammu and Kashmir in 2025.
In their Women’s Asia Cup semi-final clash, India defeated Bangladesh by 40 runs to book their place in the final. Shafali Verma slammed 64 as India posted 149/6 batting first. An excellent Indian bowling effort, led by Deepti Sharma’s three-wicket haul, saw them restrict Bangladesh to just 109/7.
BCB women’s committee chairman Rafiqul also confirmed that Nigar Sultana’s position as captain would be reviewed following the Asian Games 2026.
“We have discussed the thing in total with the board president and since they are in Asian Games we will assess the situation after the conclusion of the games. First, we will see how the team performs at the Asian Games, then decide what needs to be done,” Rafiqul said.
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