The Pakistan Cricket Board has called for match referee Andy Pycroft to be withdrawn from the Asia Cup in an escalation of the row over India’s refusal to shake hands on the field.
The sides met in Dubai on Sunday, the first match between the rivals since the major political conflict between the nations earlier this year.
India won the game by seven wickets but pointedly declined the traditional show of respect at the end of the game.
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha responded by failing to speak at the post-match presentation, with opposite number Suryakumar Yadav dedicating the win to his country’s armed forces.
Now the PCB has requested Pycroft be pulled from the tournament, reportedly due to the Zimbabwean’s handling of the toss – which also saw no handshake between the skippers.
PCB chair Mohsin Naqvi wrote on X: “The PCB has lodged a complaint with the ICC regarding violations by the match referee of the ICC Code of Conduct and the ICC Laws pertaining to the spirit of cricket. The PCB has demanded an immediate removal of the match referee from the Asia Cup.”
Sky Sports News has approached the ICC for comment, with world cricket’s governing body yet to issue a public response.
The development came after a late-night PCB statement released in Urdu to domestic media, described Pycroft’s decision as “against sportsmanship” and said team manager Naveed Akram Cheema registered a “formal protest against the match referee’s behaviour” with the International Cricket Council.
“Utterly disappointing to witness the lack of sportsmanship,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi wrote in a post on X.
“Dragging politics into the game goes against the very spirit of sports. Lets hope future victories are celebrated by all teams with grace.”
India thrashed Pakistan by seven wickets in the Asia Cup
Suryakumar, who hit the winning runs for India, did not wait for the customary handshakes with opposing players after the match before walking to the dressing room along with his team-mate Shivam Dube.
Agha reacted by skipping a post-match TV interview with former India international cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, a move which Pakistan coach Mike Hesson described as a “follow-on effect”.
“We were ready to shake hands at the end of the game, we obviously are disappointed that our opposition didn’t do that,” added Hesson, a New Zealander who was appointed to the Pakistan job in May.
“We sort of went over there to shake hands and they’d already gone into the changing room. That was a disappointing way for the match to finish, and a match we were disappointed for the way we played but we were certainly willing to shake hands.”
Indian and Pakistan can only meet in multi-team tournaments
Sunday’s game was the first between the top cricket teams from India and Pakistan since the Pahalgam attack in April, when gunmen opened fire on a group of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
India is the designated host of the eight-nation Asia Cup, but the T20 tournament is being played in the United Arab Emirates because the India and Pakistan cricket teams do not play on each other’s territory.
There was also uncertainty over India’s participation in the Asia Cup until the government clarified that the cricketers would be allowed to compete against Pakistan in multinational tournaments.
Suryakumar said the Indian team was aligned with the Board of Control for Cricket in India and government instructions that players would not shake hands with Pakistan players.
India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav and batting partner Shivam Dube immediately left the field rather than shaking hands in the middle, as is the norm
“Our government and BCCI, we were aligned today,” Suryakumar said in a post-match news conference. “We came here to just play the game. We stand with all the victims of Pahalgam terror attacks, stand with their families, and express our solidarity.”
Both teams are likely to play again in the Super 4 stage later this week, if they place first and second in Group A. India and Pakistan will also meet in the women’s World Cup on October 5, live on Sky Sports.
