PCB backs down from Asia Cup 2025 pullout threat The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has taken back its earlier threat to withdraw from the Asia Cup 2025 after a ‘no handshake’ situation during the India versus Pakistan match last week.
Throughout the match, the Indian team didn’t shake hands. At the coin toss, Captain Suryakumar Yadav didn’t shake hands with Salman Ali Agha and he repeated this at the end of the match. After hitting the winning six, Suryakumar and Shivam Dube went straight to the dressing room, skipping the usual handshake with the other team.
The PCB had filed a complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) claiming that Andy Pycroft, the match referee, had told the captains not to shake hands at the toss.
The PCB had also threatened to pull out of the Asia Cup 2025 if Pycroft wasn’t removed from his officiating duties for the rest of the tournament.
Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chairman and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president, had confirmed that a complaint had been made to the ICC. He had posted that the PCB had complained about the match referee’s violations of the ICC Code of Conduct and the MCC Laws related to the Spirit of Cricket and demanded his immediate removal from the Asia Cup.
But it seems Pakistan won’t be boycotting the rest of the Asia Cup. ESPNcricinfo reports that the PCB while having made a formal complaint hasn’t officially decided to leave the tournament no matter what the ICC decides on their complaint against Pycroft.
Pycroft and Richie Richardson are the two match referees for the tournament. Pycroft, a former Zimbabwe cricketer, will be officiating two more group stage matches: Sri Lanka versus Hong Kong and Pakistan versus UAE.
The Men in Green are close to being knocked out of the Asia Cup after a 7-wicket loss to India. They will play UAE in their last group game this week which is a must-win match for both teams. The winner will join India in the Super 4s while the loser will be out of the tournament.
