The ground has always been the bastion of war between India and Pakistan, but this time the matter of not shaking hands in Asia Cup 2025 became so heated that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) demanded the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft.
This new drama started after yesterday’s match in Dubai, where the Indian players did not shake hands with the Pakistani team.
The PCB lodged a complaint with the committee headed by ICC Chairman Jay Shah and said that Pycroft had violated the code of conduct.
After the match ended, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and his team headed straight to the dressing room, without shaking hands.
The Pakistani players kept waiting in line, but the door was closed.
The PCB says that this is against the spirit of the game. Team manager Naveed Cheema immediately lodged a protest.
PCB’s first statement clearly said, “Team Manager Naveed Cheema lodged a strong protest against the Indian players’ behaviour of not shaking hands. This was considered unsportsmanlike and against the rights of the game. As a mark of protest, we did not send our captain to the post-match ceremony.”
According to reports, Pycroft had advised Pakistani captain Salman Agha during the toss not to shake hands with the Indian captain.
PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi posted on Instagram,
“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.”
Meaning, they are directly saying that the referee broke the rules and remove him from the Asia Cup!
All this happened after the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’ in May, for the first time the two teams clashed on the field.
India won the match, but this handshake thing shocked everyone. Former Pakistani players also got angry, people like Shoaib Akhtar are saying that this is to link sports with politics.
Suryakumar said that this was the team’s decision, but PCB did not like it.
