Irfan Pathan and Shoaib Malik share a hug [Source: @anshortfilm/YouTube]Irfan Pathan and former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik shared a warm pleasantry hug after the conclusion of India vs Pakistan F2 Double Wicket match at the World Cricket Festival 2026 in Saudi Arabia. It is worth noting that the Pakistan team won the match by five runs to qualify for the next stage of the competition. Irfan Pathan’s teammate Stuart Binny also shared a hug with Shoaib Malik as players from both sides shook hands with each other amidst heightened and severing geo-political tensions between India and Pakistan. Irfan Pathan, Binny ignore Indian protocols; shake hands with Pakistan India’s prevailing geo-political tensions with neighbors Pakistan took a fresh turn, and for the worse, after the Pahalgam terrorist attack that took place last year which resulted in 26 Indian casualties.Amidst severing ties, further escalated with India’s retaliation under the moniker of “Operation Sindoor”, cricket got caught in the crossfire with players from both sides avoiding each other at the 2025 Asia Cup in the UAE.Not only did the Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav refused to interact with Pakistan skipper Agha Salman at the toss, but players from both camps also did not shook hands with each other after each of their three matches of the tournament. Moreover, Team India also refused to collect the Asia Cup 2025 trophy from PCB Chairman and ACC President Mohsin Naqvi owing to his controversial remarks against India and the Indian Army. Women's world cup got plagued tooSimilar tensions were also palpable during the subsequent 2025 Women’s World Cup in India, where players from India and Pakistan avoided any on-field interaction. Amidst the heightened diplomatic strain, former Indian cricketers Irfan Pathan and Stuart Binny, as well as ex-Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik seemingly forgot or rather ignored their nation’s protocols during their latest faceoff. In match number six of the Double Wicket World Cricket Festival 2026 in Saudi Arabia, both Indian cricketers shared a warm pleasantry hug with Shoaib Malik, and players from both camps even shook hands with each other.Watch the video below Pakistan beat India by five runsNonetheless, the Pakistan cricket team pipped India by five runs in a nail-biter to register their third successive win of the World Cricket Festival 2026. Batting first, Pakistan charted 56-4 in four overs, with captain Shoaib Malik striking a fiery 34. His partner Imran Nazir also chipped in with a 16-run knock. In response, India lost four wickets and were restricted to 51 despite Irfan Pathan’s late belligerence. Earlier in the run-chase, the Indian lost three wickets in quick succession, with each dismissal resulting in negative eight runs from the total. Another wicket a couple of overs later pretty much dented India’s response for the remainder of the game, and Pathan’s last-ball 12 merely kept the Indian defeat margin down to five runs.Earlier in the tournament, the Pakistan team also defeated Sri Lanka and UAE with emphatic margins to remain unbeaten so far at the revolutionary F2 Double Wicket event.
