Controversial match referee Andy Pycroft has offered an apology to Pakistan, who ends the handshake debacle with India a result of “miscommunication”.
In a statement, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed the development and said that the match referee Pycroft has apologized to the manager and leader of the Pakistan Cricket team.
“Pycroft mentioned the incident of 14 September as a result of miscommunication and apologized,” said it, adding that the International Cricket Council (ICC) expressed the willingness to conduct an investigation into the violation of the code for behavior.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi focused on a press conference after the referee’s apology and urged the nation to support the team. He added that the board had asked the ICC to conduct an investigation into the violations that took place during the Pakistan-India competition.
Naqvi said that he had also consulted former PCB presidents Najam Sethi and Ramiz Raja about this issue. “I thank Allah that the honor of Pakistan has been maintained,” he noticed and expressed the hope that the national side would now perform and deliver the field.
Former chairman Sethi repeated that the consistent position of the PCB was that politics should not be brought into sport. His successor, Raja, called the development a victory for Pakistan and insisted that the team is now proving itself through performance.
“Cricket must remain cricket and not be converted into a political platform,” said Raja, adding that the focus must now return to the game itself. He emphasized that all painful feelings must be left behind and that all attention is focused on the performance on the field.
Raja also criticized Pycroft, claiming that he had been a “regular referee” for the Indian team, pointing that Pycroft had advanced in more than 90 games of India.
After the apology, Pakistan captain Agha came to the UAE skipper Muhammad Wasem on the field for the pitch.
The Pakistan cricket team reached Dubai International Cricket Stadium on the instructions of PCB chairman Naqvi. The team, initially told to stay in their hotel, finally left the board after approval.
After the approval of the Cricket Board, the national cricket players became in favor of on board the team bus.
PCB advisor Amir Mir later confirmed that the fixture was postponed by an hour in the midst of a row in which the referee Andy Pycroft was involved. The board announced that the competition would start at 8:30 PM (PST), planned for 8 p.m. with the Worp.
The controversy comes from the Pakistan -India collision on September 14, when both captains skipped the usual handshake at the pitch – a reportedly directed by Pycroft – which gave rise to tensions between the PCB and the match referee.
PCB Penen Second Letter to ICC
Earlier the sources said that the PCB has written another letter to the ICC above the refusal of the latter to accept his demand for Pycroft’s removal from the Asia Cup 2025
The PCB has rejected a solid position on the issue, has rejected the ICC decision not to take action against the competition referee.
The board, according to the sources, has refused to play matches that have been accompanied by Pycroft and is on his decision to boycott the matches if its requirements are not met.
Moreover, the PCB mentioned the ICC’s investigation against the competition referee as a mere formality, and emphasizes that neither all aspects were investigated on investigation nor relevant people.
In his letter, the PCB said that Pakistan will agree to play after all his reservations have been tackled, and a formal announcement of the acceptance of the question is made.
The sources emphasized the increasing misery of ICC and said that the Cricket authority has no choice but to remove the referee from Pakistani matches after Pakistan’s tough position.
Sources also said that the PCB has not received a response from the ICC so far.
Hand pressure controversy
The Indian skipper not only avoided handshake at the Worp, but he repeated the same after the match ended, when the players of the opposite teams had to shake hands according to the cricket tradition.
While the Indian players congratulated each other with the Dugout after the game, they kept away from acknowledging or shaking hands with the Pakistani team.
Pakistan’s players stood in line and expected the usual handshake, only to withdraw the Indian team and close the changing room doors.
Later the victory captain of India, Suryakumar, defended his team’s decision not to shake the Pakistani players and said it was taken into account with their government and cricket board.
The movement led to a strong reaction from the cricket brotherhood, as well as Mohsin Naqvi, which leads both the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and is also the serving head of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
Not only did Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha, in protest, refused to attend the post-match presentation ceremony, breaking from broadcast norms where captains usually share their thoughts, the PCB has filed a formal complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), Calling for the Removal of Match referee Pycroftt from the Ongoing Asia Cup 2025 – for Reportedly Instructing the omission of the usual handshake.
