Wednesday at the Asia Cup 2025 was full of drama. Pakistan almost withdrew from the tournament after the team didn’t leave its hotel for the match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had been threatening to boycott the event. This stemmed from an incident on September 14, when Indian players, including Suryakumar Yadav, didn’t shake hands with the Pakistani team, which the PCB saw as disrespectful and embarrassing.
The PCB wasn’t happy with match referee Andy Pycroft, claiming he was biased against them. They even asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) to remove him from his position at the Asia Cup.
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The ICC responded with a six-point explanation, stating that the PCB’s complaints were unfounded. Pycroft even remained the match referee for the Pakistan versus UAE game.
PCB head Mohsin Naqvi, who also leads the Asian Cricket Council, explained why the team didn’t withdraw.
As everyone knows, we’ve had issues since September 14 regarding the match referee’s role, Naqvi told reporters. He spoke with the team coach, captain, and manager not long ago and admitted the handshake incident shouldn’t have happened. We had also asked the ICC to investigate a possible code violation during the match.
Naqvi added, We believe politics and sports should stay separate. Cricket should be just about the sport itself. I consulted with Sethi and Rameez Raja. We had support from the prime minister, government officials, and others if we decided to boycott, which would have been a big step. We were closely watching the situation.
The ICC’s letter to the PCB stated, Our investigation was based on the report you provided, which we took at face value. We noticed that you didn’t include any supporting documents or evidence. The PCB had the chance to submit statements from its team members with the initial report but didn’t.
The ICC concluded that the match referee had no case to answer.
The ICC also added that Pycroft’s actions were in line with how a match referee would handle such an issue, following directions from the ACC Venue Manager with very little time to react. The ICC emphasized that Pycroft was focused on preserving the sanctity of the toss and preventing any potential embarrassment.
The ICC clarified, The match referee wasn’t at fault. It’s not his job to regulate team or tournament-specific protocols agreed upon outside of the game itself.
In conclusion, the ICC questioned whether the PCB’s real concern is about the decision that handshakes didn’t happen. They suggested, The PCB should take those complaints to the tournament organizers, not the match referee. The ICC is not involved in that decision.
