By Feroz Khan,News18

Copyright news18

ICC Match Referee Andy Pycroft will reportedly not officiate in any of the remaining matches of the Asia Cup 2025 involving Pakistan following Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) threat to withdraw from the continental tournament. PCB allege Pycroft sided with India during the handshake controversy and allege the Zimbabwean asked the captains of the two teams to avoid shaking hands at the toss.
Citing a PCB source, news agency PTI reports that Pycroft has been removed and replaced by Richie Richardson for Pakistan’s last group stage match against the UAE in the Asia Cup 2025, following a conversation with the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Pycroft will also not officiate in Pakistan’s games if the team makes it to the Super 4 stage.
Why Is PCB Targeting Pycroft?
India and Pakistan squared off in a Group A match of the Asia Cup 2025 – their first meeting since the Pahalgam terror attack earlier this year. The captains of the two teams – Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Agha – didn’t interact with each other at the toss. Once India completed their impressive seven-wicket triumph, the two unbeaten batters – Suryakumar and Shivam Dube – headed straight for the Indian dressing room without waiting for Pakistan players for the customary post-match handshake which triggered a huge controversy.
Irked by India’s snub, Agha didn’t attend the post-match presentation.
Later, Suryakumar confirmed that not shaking hands was a collective call that had been made prior to the match. “We took a team call. We had come only to play. We had given them a reply. Some things are beyond sportsmanship. We dedicate this victory to our armed forces who took part in ‘Operation Sindoor’ and stand with families of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack,” he said during a post-match interaction with the media.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi who is also the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president, without taking any name, criticised the unsportsmanlike conduct on social media.
Later, PCB released a statement confirming they’ve lodged a complaint with the ICC alleging that Pycroft asked their captain Agha to not shake hands with Suryakumar at the toss time.
In a strong-worded letter to the ICC, PCB wrote, “It is alarming to note that an ICC-appointed and supposedly neutral match referee opted to indulge in conduct, which clearly violates the Spirit of Cricket and MCC Laws. The match referee failed to discharge his responsibility: to ensure that respect was extended and maintained amongst the captains as well as between the two competing sides; and to create a positive atmosphere by his conduct and encourage the captains and participating teams to do likewise.”