The Indo-Pak cricket tension tightened further on Sunday as India A and Pakistan Shaheens players refused to shake hands before their Asia Cup Rising Stars clash.

After the national anthems, both teams walked away without acknowledgment, an almost deliberate replay of the senior sides’ stance in September.

Pakistan Shaheens won the toss and chose to field.

The roots of this silence go back to the Asia Cup in September, when India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav refused to shake hands with Salman Ali Agha “as a show of solidarity for victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.”

On Sunday, India A captain Jitesh Sharma made it clear that the message had not faded.

This comes at a time when Indo-Pak cricketing ties sit at their lowest point in years.

The frost deepened after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi refused to hand over the Asia Cup winner’s trophy to Suryakumar in Dubai.

The Indian men’s team “had declined to accept the trophy from a Pakistan representative,” adding fuel to the already tense atmosphere.