Mandhana-Harmanpreet ‘No Handshake’ Video: What Is Known and What Is Not

A short clip from India’s eight-wicket win over Zimbabwe in Vadodara on Thursday, 29 October, shows captain Smriti Mandhana looking the other way as former captain Harmanpreet Kaur walks towards her in the post-match handshake line. The two do not shake hands in that moment. The clip has been shared widely on X as proof of a rift. That part is not confirmed: neither player has said anything about it, the BCCI has not commented, and the earlier rift reports rest on a single unnamed source.

What the Clip Shows

The video was posted on X on 29 October by the fan account RCB Xtra with the caption “No handshake between Harman and Smriti”, CricTracker reported. As the Indian players walk through the handshakes after the third ODI, Harmanpreet moves towards Mandhana, who turns her head in another direction. The moment lasts a second or two.

Confirmed: the clip is from that match. India won by eight wickets to complete a 3-0 ODI series win, after also winning the T20I series against Zimbabwe.

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Not confirmed: that the miss was deliberate. CricTracker described the moment as brief and said there was no clear evidence it reflected tension. The Sunday Guardian said it “could have been coincidental”. The Daily Jagran said it could not confirm the video’s authenticity. No outlet has published fuller footage of the handshake line from another angle.

Where the Rift Talk Comes From

Harmanpreet stepped down as captain after India’s Asian Games gold, and the BCCI named Mandhana full-time white-ball captain on 6 October. A day later, PTI quoted an unnamed team source saying the two “were not seeing eye to eye for a while now” and that there was “an obvious unease in the dressing room”, India TV reported. Former captain Mithali Raj told PTI that Mandhana should have been given the ODI captaincy two or three years earlier.

Not confirmed: the source’s claim. No player, selector or BCCI official has said on record that there is a rift, and none has denied it either. One anonymous source is all the public record holds.

What the Two Have Said and Done in Public

When she was appointed, Mandhana called the captaincy a “very special honour” and praised Harmanpreet’s leadership, Business Today reported. “Ten years of your leadership have been fantastic,” she said. In the second ODI of this series, Harmanpreet scored 126, and Mandhana was seen applauding the century.

Harmanpreet has had a strong series under the new captain: 92 runs in two T20I innings at a strike rate above 200, and the hundred in the ODIs. Mandhana made 56 runs in the two T20Is.

What Has Not Been Explained

Neither player has responded to the clip, and the BCCI has not addressed the PTI report or the video. That silence is what lets a one-second moment fill the gap. Until one of the two players or the board speaks, the honest answer is that a rift is alleged by one unnamed source and confirmed by no one.

India’s next assignment is a tour of South Africa, starting with a tour match in Benoni on 6 December and a one-off Test from 9 December, followed by three ODIs and three T20Is.

Source: BCCI announcement of 6 October 2026, as reported by Business Today. Also based on reporting by CricTracker, The Sunday Guardian, The Daily Jagran and India TV (PTI).

Image: IPB.