The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) to stand down Andy Pycroft from the remainder of the men’s T20 Asia Cup after Sunday’s India-Pakistan fixture in Dubai.
PCB chairman and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi confirmed on Monday that a formal complaint had gone in. “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,” Naqvi wrote on X. “The PCB has demanded an immediate removal of the Match Referee from the Asia Cup.”
The board’s grievance centres on an alleged request from Pycroft that “requested the captains not to shake hands at the toss”. Handshakes before and after play are customary, though not compulsory, in ACC and ICC events.
India won the group match by seven wickets, but the fallout has travelled well beyond the result. After the final ball, the Indian players and support staff did not cross the square to acknowledge Pakistan, breaking an unwritten convention between the sides. India captain Suryakumar Yadav later told reporters the “government and the BCCI were aligned” on the decision.
Pakistan captain Salman Agha skipped the post-match presentation, while head coach Mike Hesson described India’s stance as “disappointing”. Naqvi followed up online on Sunday night, accusing India of “dragging politics into the game” and showing a lack of “sportsmanship”. Yadav, for his part, said there were “few things in life were ahead of sportsman’s spirit”.
For now, Pycroft remains on the officials’ roster. Match referees for ACC tournaments are provided by the ICC, so any personnel change would need ICC approval. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), official host of this Asia Cup, would also have to be consulted. No public response has come from either organisation.
Context is hard to ignore. The fixture was the first India-Pakistan meeting since cross-border skirmishes in April. New Delhi only cleared participation once it confirmed a policy allowing matches at multilateral events while ruling out bilateral tours. Calls for an Indian boycott were still echoing when the two teams arrived in Dubai last week.
The tournament schedule means Sunday might not be the last time the subject comes up. Pakistan must beat the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday to reach the Super Four stage, where a second meeting with India is pencilled in for 21 September.
Former umpire Simon Taufel, speaking on a regional broadcast, urged calm: “If there’s a misunderstanding, the easiest fix is for everyone to sit down and talk it through. You don’t want match officials becoming the story.”
Analytically, the PCB’s move is unusual but not without precedent. Match officials have been replaced mid-series, though generally for logistical rather than disciplinary reasons. The ICC Code of Conduct allows boards to raise concerns; action, however, normally follows only after an independent review. Removing Pycroft at short notice would add scheduling strain in a tournament already juggling security and travel protocols.
Players from both camps have been at pains to keep cricket in the foreground. Shaheen Shah Afridi, who took the new ball on Sunday, said in a brief television chat that the side wished merely “to play hard cricket and move on”. Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal echoed that sentiment: “We’re here to win matches, nothing else.”
Whether the handshake row fades or becomes another marker in the complicated India-Pakistan relationship will depend on how swiftly the authorities respond. Either way, the Asia Cup rolls on; the cricket, as ever, has to find room amid the politics.
