Asia Cup: PCB threatens to boycott next match over handshake snub
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Dubai: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has threatened to pull out its team from the next match of the ongoing Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 if the International Cricket Council (ICC) does not remove match referee Andy Pycroft, citing his alleged mishandling of the handshake snub incident involving Indian players during Sunday’s match.
The PCB objected to Pycroft instructing Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha not to shake hands with India skipper Suryakumar Yadav at the toss. The board also claimed that Pycroft failed to prevent the Indian players from engaging in conduct contrary to sportsmanship and the spirit of the game.
In a letter to the ICC seeking Pycroft’s removal, the PCB warned that its team may boycott the next match if no action is taken, according to Telecom Asia Sport. “It is learnt that Pakistan has threatened, in the letter, that they will boycott the next match if Pycroft is not removed,” the report said.
Sources also revealed that Usman Wahla, PCB’s Director of International Cricket, has been suspended for delaying the submission of the protest letter.
The PCB has lodged a formal protest with both the ICC and the Asian Cricket Council against match referee Pycroft. The Zimbabwean referee reportedly took Agha aside before the toss and instructed him not to shake hands with Suryakumar, prompting the PCB to question, “How can a match referee tell a captain not to shake hands with the other captain?”
According to the report, Pycroft allegedly conveyed the same instruction to the Indian skipper and later told the Pakistan team’s media manager not to record his conversations or movements. The PCB claims that Pycroft and Tournament Director Andre Russell justified the no-handshake directive, citing it as a policy of the Indian government and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which the teams were bound to follow.
The PCB further cited MCC rules, which mandate handshakes and proper conduct between teams, arguing that Pycroft failed to ensure the implementation of these regulations, and therefore should be removed as match referee.
With IANS inputs