Iyer and Farhan do not shake hands at toss of Asian Games 2026 final in Nisshin

India captain Shreyas Iyer and Pakistan captain Sahibzada Farhan did not shake hands at the toss of the Asian Games 2026 men’s cricket final at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin on Saturday, October 3.

India enter the final as defending champions while Pakistan are aiming to win the gold medal, with both sides having reached the title match after semi-final victories — India defeated Afghanistan and Pakistan beat Bangladesh.

The avoidance of the customary handshake between India and Pakistan players dates back to the Asia Cup 2025, which was the first meeting after the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025 and the military tensions that followed between the two countries; India captain Suryakumar Yadav later said "the team wanted to stand with the victims and their families." The same approach was seen in later India-Pakistan matches, including the 2026 T20 World Cup.

At the toss the two captains acknowledged each other but did not exchange handshakes; neither Shreyas Iyer nor Sahibzada Farhan shook hands as the BCCI’s and PCB’s no handshake policy continued. There has been no official explanation from either captain for not shaking hands at the toss.

After the toss, India began their innings in the final. Pakistan will look to take early wickets, while India will aim to score a big total in the match.

Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bat first in the Asian Games 2026 men’s cricket final.