The dispute over not shaking hands after the India-Pakistan match in the Asia Cup 2025 escalated to such an extent that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) threatened to abandon the entire tournament. However, they eventually backed down.
Former PCB Chairman Najam Sethi has now revealed the full story. He described how the situation became so heated that people were shouting,
“Let the Asia Cup go to hell, let the ICC go to hell!”
Asia Cup 2025: What’s the whole story?
It all started on September 14, when India defeated Pakistan. After the match, Indian players, led by Suryakumar Yadav, refused to shake hands with the Pakistani team.
Pakistani captain Salman Ali Agha was offended. The PCB accused match referee Andy Pycroft of asking Salman not to shake hands with Suryakumar Yadav during the toss and not to exchange team sheets.
The PCB demanded the ICC’s removal of Pycroft and an investigation. But the ICC flatly refused.
Then came the Pakistan-UAE match on September 17th. Players in Dubai didn’t even leave their hotels. Some started returning home, there were delays at the stadium, and the UAE team was also confused.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, Najam Sethi, and Rameez Raja were in a meeting in Lahore.
Sethi told Sama TV, “The decision had already been made. The atmosphere was like, ‘Under public pressure, let’s boycott. Let the Asia Cup go to hell, let the ICC go to hell.’ My attitude has always been to stay within the legal framework and not leave the international arena. When I was invited, my friends said, ‘Don’t go, don’t support them.’ I didn’t go to support Naqvi, I went to help the PCB.”
Sethi warned about what would have happened to Pakistan if the boycott had happened! The ACC could have imposed a ban, the ICC could have imposed penalties, foreign players would not have played in the PSL, and the PCB would have lost $15 million (approximately Rs 132 crore) in broadcasting rights.
This would have been a disaster for the PCB. Ultimately, Naqvi decided to play the match.
Sethi and Raja also supported him
He said, “This incident (not shaking hands) should not have happened. We asked the ICC to investigate the code violation. But politics and sports should be kept separate. Keep cricket separate.” .
The PCB claimed that Pycroft apologized for the miscommunication. ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta told Naqvi that Pycroft was correct and followed the rules.
