Pakistan women's team head coach and former pacer Wahab Riaz was left perplexed by India's handshake snub in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 clash on June 14 at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Riaz said he doesn't know the reason behind India's handshake snub. After the crushing 64-run defeat, he said that these things ‘don't make a big difference’.
“I don’t know what is the reason behind not shaking hands. But if things want to move like this, let it go like that. It won’t make a big difference,” Riaz said in the post-match press conference.
The handshake from the Indian camp started in ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 following the Pahalgam terrorist attack which led to India carrying out Operation Sindoor to destroy terrorist centres in Pakistan. The handshake snub has continued since as the two teams only face each other in ACC or ICC events.
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Deepti makes Pakistan batters surrender
Earlier, Smriti Mandhana's 68-run knock, Richa Ghosh-s 17-ball 34 cameo helped India post 170/6. In reply, Pakistan's batting lineup crumbled. The spin trap worked for India as Fatima Sana-led Pakistan were bowled out for 106 in 17 overs. While Shree Charani took three wickets, Deepti Sharma went on take a fifer while conceding just 10 runs from her quota of 10 overs. She broke the record for the best bowling figures by ab Indian bowler in Women's T20 World Cup history. Her 5 for 10 is also the third-best bowling figures in the tournament's history.
“We really went well in the powerplay. We needed to score seven and eight an over for the next three-four overs without losing wickets,” Wahab said.
“Very unfortunately, from the seventh over to the 13th over, we lost five wickets in a row. In a T20 game, it is very difficult to make a comeback after that,” he added.
India, Pakistan’s next games at World Cup
Pakistan's net run rate (NRR) has taken a hit and it's only slightly better than South Africa who lost to Australia in their opening game. Pakistan and South Africa will face each other on June 17 at the same venue. On the same day, India will go up against Netherlands at Headingley, Leeds.