Why Pakistan Cricket Board Demands Removal of Referee Andy Pycroft?

Sep 15, 2025 - 14:00

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has filed a formal complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). They want match referee Andy Pycroft to be removed from the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 after the handshake controversy in the high-stakes match against India.

During the toss of the Pakistan-India match, both captains skipped the usual handshake, which match referee Pycroft is said to have told them to do.

The PCB has said that this order is against the spirit of cricket and the MCC’s rules.

The PCB wrote in its letter, “There were no handshakes before or after the match, which goes against the spirit of the game and long-standing traditions.” It also made it clear that Pycroft “failed to fulfill his duties as match referee” and broke the ICC Code of Conduct.

Pakistan’s worries grew after India won by seven wickets on Sunday. Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian captain, hit the winning runs and then celebrated with teammate Shivam Dube before going directly to the locker room.

The Indian players applauded each other in the dugout, but they didn’t talk to or shake hands with the Pakistani team.

Pakistan’s players lined up for the usual handshake, but the Indian squad backed away and closed the dressing room doors, leaving the visitors clearly upset.

Mike Hesson, the head coach, said that the team had been waiting for the gesture that never arrived.

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha didn’t go to the post-match presentation ceremony as a protest, which is against the custom for captains who normally offer their thoughts on TV.

The PCB also mentioned MCC rules in its letter, stressing the “spirit of the game” and rejecting what it called an attempt to undermine it.

Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the PCB and the president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), used the social media site “X” to talk about the board’s worries about what the match referee did. He stressed that it went against the rules and the spirit of the game.

“The PCB has filed a complaint with the ICC about the match referee breaking the ICC Code of Conduct and the MCC regulations. The referee did things that went against the spirit of cricket. Naqvi wrote, “We have asked for Andy Pycroft to be taken out of the Asia Cup right away.”

The complaint also said that tournament officials had been told what to do, which turned out to be orders from the Indian board and, in the end, from the Indian government. This made the situation much more complicated.

Naveed Akram Cheema, the media manager for Pakistan, complained to the match referee and then to Tournament Director Andrew Russell. At first, Russell maintained the orders came from the Indian board, but later he said they came from the Indian government.