After the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) distanced itself from Nigar Sultana’s decision not to shake hands with Harmanpreet Kaur in the 2026 Asia Cup semi-final, the Bangladesh women’s team was forced to make a u-turn and complete the pre-match tradition at the toss during the 2026 Asian Games semi-final on Sunday (September 20) at the Karogi Sports Park in Nisshin.
After Harmanpreet won the toss and chose to bat first, the duo were seen shaking hands with each other. The visuals showed that the Indian captain took the initiative by extending her hands towards Sultana, who obliged.
Nigar Sultana Faces BCB’s Wrath
Sultana’s decision was criticised by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), which claimed there was no directive from the governing body and the skipper made the decision on her own. Moreover, they also claimed that she could be removed from the top job soon.
“Of course, it was her own decision (not to shake hands with Harmanpreet). 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,” said Rafiqul Islam Babu, Bangladesh Cricket Board’s women’s committee chairman
“We have discussed the thing (performance and complaint) 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, here are many shortcomings in the team. We have not been able to beat the bigger teams. We played well in the World Cup too but lost because of small mistakes. We are working to make the team stronger and more competitive. After the Asian Games we will decide what can be done,” Babu added.
The reason behind Sultana’s decision during the Asia Cup is not known, but Bangladesh and India’s relations have been tense after the BCB decided against sending their men’s team to the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. following BCCI’s decision to prohibit Mustafizur Rahman from playing the 2026 IPL.
Meanwhile, Harmanpreet herself had an aggressive on-field outburst against Bangladesh during an ODI game in 2023 in Mirpur. Later, Harmanpreet asked Sultana to ‘bring the umpires’ during the presentation when the two captains went to lift the trophy after the series ended in a 1-1 draw.