Pakistan had lodged a complaint against the Indian players for not shaking hands after the Asia Cup 2025 clash. The PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, had called the ICC to remove match referee Andy Pycroft, which is unlikely to be met.
The International Cricket Council is unlikely to accept the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) demand to remove match referee Andy Pycroft from the Asia Cup 2025 despite the board threatening to boycott its upcoming match against the UAE, Cricbuzz reported.
The report added that the ICC has not issued any official response to PCB’s request for changing the referee, and the International Board is unlikely to accede to such a request.
Notably, it is believed that Pycroft does not have much of a role in the handshake gate, as he might have just conveyed the message from India to Pakistan about Suryakumar Yadav not wanting a handshake with opposition skipper Salman Agha.ย
Meanwhile, it is also believed that removing a referee with a limited role in the handshake gate after an appeal from only one team will set a wrong precedent.
Pakistan had lodged a complaint to the Asian Cricket Council against India for their players not shaking hands. “The PCB has lodged a complaint with the ICC regarding violations by the Match Referee of the ICC Code of Conduct and the MCC Laws pertaining to the Spirit of Cricket. The PCB has demanded an immediate removal of the Match Referee from the Asia Cup,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said in a social media post on Monday.
The Indian players refused to shake hands with their Pakistan counterparts, with India skipper Suryakumar Yadav avoiding the greeting at the toss first. After finishing the match with a six, he and non-striker Shivam Dube went straight away to the dressing room.
Pakistan skipper Salman Agha did not attend the post-match presentation, and the Pakistan Cricket Board lodged a complaint with the Asian Cricket Council regarding the Indian players’ actions.ย “Team manager Naveed Cheema lodged a strong protest against the Indian players’ behaviour of not shaking hands. It was deemed as unsporting and against the spirit of the game. As a protest, we did not send our captain to the post-match ceremony,โ the PCB statement read, according to PTI.ย
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