PCB demands ‘immediate removal’ of match referee Pycroft from Asia Cup

The Indians cricket team’s refusal to shake hands with Pakistan following Sunday’s Asia Cup fixture in Dubai, has agitated the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to an extent that they are now demanding the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft from the remainder of the tournament.

While there have been reports of Pakistan threatening to withdraw from their next fixture in the tournament if Pycroft was not removed, The Statesman could not independently verify the reports.

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The demand from PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the current president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), came a day after the PCB had alleged that Pycroft had “requested the captains not to shake hands at the toss” as is customary.

“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. The PCB has demanded an immediate removal of the Match Referee from the Asia Cup,” Naqbi said on social media.

Earlier, expressing his discontent after the match, Naqvi had posted, “Utterly disappointed by the lack of sportsmanship today. Dragging politics into the game goes against the very spirit of sports. Let’s hope future victories are celebrated by all teams with grace.”

It has been learnt that the PCB has conveyed this demand via a letter addressed to ICC general manager Wasim Khan. The letter says that Pycroft, at the time of the toss, took Pakistan captain Salman Agha aside and told him there would be no handshakes at the toss. It goes on to say that Pycroft then spoke separately to India captain Suryakumar Yadav.

“The match referee Andy Pycroft had asked captain Salman Ali Agha, at the time of the toss, not to shake hands with his Indian counterpart. The Pakistan team management has lodged a protest, calling the behaviour against the spirit of sports,” the board said.

Following India’s win, the Indian players on the field — captain Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube — walked back to their dressing room without the customary handshake, leaving the Pakistan camp surprised. In protest, Pakistan skipper Salman Agha skipped the post-match presentation ceremony.

The PCB later confirmed the development, stating, “Team manager Naveed Cheema lodged a strong protest against Indian players’ behaviour of not shaking hands. It was deemed as unsporting and against the sport of the game. As a protest, we did not send our captain to the post-match ceremony.”

Cheema subsequently spoke to tournament director Andrew Russell seeking an explanation, but was told, the PCB says, that it was down to the line the BCCI had taken on the matter following discussions with the Indian government.

Later, during the post-match presser, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav offered a pointed clarification that the Indian “government and the BCCI were aligned” on the matter. He also dedicated the win to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 Indians were killed, and to India’s Armed Forces who later carried out Operation Sindoor against the perpetrators.

“Few things in life are ahead of sportsman spirit also. I’ve [said] it at the presentation as well, we stand with all the victims of Pahalgam terror attacks, stand with their families, and express our solidarity,” SKY said.

“We took a team call. We had come only to play. We had given them a reply,” he added.

The Statesman also understands that while the Asia Cup is an ACC tournament, where the International Cricket Council (ICC) has no organisational role but the match officials are appointed by the ICC.

Thus withdrawal of the match referee would require ICC’s intervention. Another crucial point is that the BCCI is the official host of the ongoing Asia Cup and might have a role in the matter.

While Sunday’s match was the first face-off between India and Pakistan following the barbaric terror attacks and the subsequent retaliation from the Indian forces targeting terror infra across the border, the two sides could be up against each other again in the Super 4 stages of the tournament.