The Asia Cup 2025 has been full of drama and it’s all because of India and Pakistan.
Trouble started when the Indian team didn’t shake hands with the Pakistani players after their group match. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) asked for the match referee Andy Pycroft to be removed from the tournament. When the International Cricket Council (ICC) denied their request, the PCB threatened to pull out of their match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This would have meant Pakistan’s early exit from the Asia Cup 2025.
The match against UAE did happen though it started an hour late. Pakistan won by 41 runs.
Read Also:- Axar Patel Suffers Head Injury Ahead of India vs Pakistan Clash
Former Indian cricketer Madan Lal didn’t mince words when he spoke about the situation. He criticized the PCB for poor handling of the matter.
Lal said on India Today, Pakistan gave in because they didn’t have a reason to stand on. First of all there is no rule that we have to shake hands. Second why should Andy Pycroft be removed? Too many people in Pakistan are involved in one issue and the PCB is disorganized. They are making decisions without thinking and that’s not acceptable at international level where you have to be sure of every move.
Regarding Pakistan’s threat to boycott the UAE match he added, Who loses if they don’t play? They do. If Pakistan had boycotted that match it would have hurt their cricket program badly.
In their match against India Pakistan scored 127/9 in 20 overs. Against UAE they struggled again and could only manage 146/9.
Lal continued his criticism, the current Pakistan team has been underperforming with the bat.
He said, Their country is going through many problems right now. They used to have incredibly talented cricketers but if you look at their team over the past five or six years the current players just don’t have the same quality. I have never seen a Pakistani team bat so poorly.
