WATCH: Harbhajan shakes hands with Dahani after Abu Dhabi T10 match

ABU DHABI: Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh shook hands with Pakistan pacer Shahnawaz Dahani following the Abu Dhabi T10 League match between Northern Warriors and Aspin Stallions here at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

The incident occurred after Dahani successfully defended eight runs off the final over to help the Warriors register their first victory in the nine-team tournament by edging past the Stallions by four runs.

At the start of the final over, the Stallions were comfortably placed at 107/4 while chasing a 115-run target, but Dahani turned the game on its head by taking two wickets and conceding only two runs off his first four deliveries.

The back-to-back dismissals prompted Stallions captain Singh to walk out to bat, with six runs required off two deliveries.

The 45-year-old only managed to take a single on the penultimate delivery before getting run out on the final delivery of the innings as the Warriors clinched a come-from-behind triumph.

Following the conclusion of the fixture, the players from both teams offered customary handshakes, among whom was Singh, who also approached Dahani, and the two players shared a warm handshake with bright smiles.

The handshake between the cricketers from Pakistan and India was quick to capture fans' attention, who flocked to social media to highlight it, with some praising the sportsmanship, while a few called out the former Indian spinner for hypocrisy.

Notably, Singh was part of the India Legends that refused to play against Pakistan Legends twice during the World Championship of Legends, staged in England earlier this year.

The rift between the two cricketing nations further intensified during the ACC Men's T20 Asia Cup 2025, during which Indian players skipped customary handshakes and avoided any interaction with their Pakistan counterparts in each of their three encounters, including the blockbuster final.

The controversy did not remain limited to the men’s events, as a similar situation occurred at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025, where both teams' captains, Harmanpreet Kaur and Fatima Sana, avoided shaking hands at the toss.

The handshake controversy between the arch-rivals resurfaced on Sunday during the ACC Men’s Asia Cup Rising Stars 2025 clash between India ‘A’ and Pakistan Shaheens, as captains Jitesh Sharma and Irfan Niazi skipped the customary handshake at the toss.