Ramiz Raja accused ICC referee Andy Pycroft of favouring India during his career. Ramiz said this after meeting with PCB and ACC chair Mohsin Naqvi on September 17. However, his claims lack basis, as referees donโt influence on-field decisions.
Former PCB chairman and ex-captain Ramiz Raja has strongly criticised ICC match referee Andy Pycroft, accusing him of bias towards the Indian cricket team in the wake of Pakistanโs controversial Asia Cup encounter against India in Dubai. The row, which initially stemmed from a post-match handshake incident, has now escalated into a wider dispute involving accusations of partiality and miscommunication.
Notably, tensions between the two nations have been heightened since the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, where 26 Indians were killed. Following which, Indian players refused to shake hands with Pakistan cricketers on September 14, which rattled Pakistan as their captain, Salman Agha, didnโt attend the post-match presentation.
They even called for boycotting the game against UAE. They stuck by the plan for long, even hours before the match, but couldnโt tame ICC. Notably, they wanted match referee Andy Pycroft to be removed from their match against UAE, but the ICC rejected their plea. Soon after that, PCB highlighted that Pycroft apologised to the Pakistan team management, but none of that was made official.
Ramizโs claims have no truth
In the meantime, Ramiz voiced his discontent, questioned Pycroftโs frequent presence in Indiaโs fixtures and suggested it undermines the principle of neutrality.ย
“What’s interesting is […] Andy Pycroft is favourite [for the Indians]. Whenever I host tosses, he’s always a permanent fixture over there. This is something blatant for me because, though I thought he had refereed several matches, stats seemingly show something one-sided. It should not be like this. This is a neutral platform, which is why there are referees and match officials. However, I felt that he was fixed there. But I hope that better sense prevails,โ Raja said.
Meanwhile, Ramizโs claims are far from reality. Pycroft has been a match referee for India in 124 matches. He has officiated 107 matches of England and 103 of Pakistan. Under no circumstances has Pycroft been a match referee for India games only. On top of that, match referees have no role to play in on-field match decisions. So, itโs unclear what Ramiz meant by bias.