The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) formally filed a complaint on Monday to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), looking for the removal of competition referee Andy Pycroftt of official tasks in the current Asia -Cup 2025.
The complaint follows on the Pakistan-India collision on Sunday, where the usual handshake between captains was skipped at the Worp. According to reports, the omission was led by Pycroft, which brought the PCB to increase objections to his behavior.
“The PCB has filed a complaint with the ICC with regard to the violation of the match referee of the ICC behavior code and MCC laws. The competition referee has taken action against the spirit of Cricket. We have demanded the immediate deletion of Andy Pycroft from the Asia Cup,” PCB in a item, “PCB Op X.
In his complaint, the PCB chef called the directive a violation of the spirit of Cricket and in violation of the laws of the MCC.
The controversy came to the fore after the Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who hit the winning points, celebrated with teammate Shivam Dube before he immediately went to the dressing room.
While the Indian players congratulated each other on the dugout, they have abandoned recognizing 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.
Head coach Mike Hesson confirmed that the team had waited for the gesture that never came.
In protest, Captain Salman Ali Agha van Pakistan refused to attend the presentation ceremony after the competition, broke from broadcasting standards where Captains usually share their thoughts.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who also serves as president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), went to the social media platform earlier and condemned the incident and described it as a flagrant snub.
“Full -time disappointing to witness the lack of sportiness today. Drinking politics in play goes against the spirit of sport. Let’s hope that future victories will be celebrated by all teams with Grace,” Naqvi wrote.
Pakistan MediaManager Naveed Akram Cheema also recorded the protest with the competition referee.
“The team manager, Nveed Cheema, submitted a protest after the game with competition referee Andy Pycroft,” said Pakistan’s team management in a statement after the game.
“The behavior of Indian players was against the spirit of sportiness,” it added. “That is why Schipper Agha was not sent to the ceremony after the game.”
In the meantime, the victory captain of India, Suryakumar, defended his team’s decision not to shake hands with the defeated Pakistan players on Sunday and said it was taken into account with their government and cricket board.
“We are tailored to the government and the Council of Control for Cricket in India,” Suryakumar did not say after scoring 47 when India pursued a modest Pakistani target of 128 in 15.5 overs.
“Some things are above sportiness. Is it really sportiness if you don’t even shake hands with the other team? That was our answer.”
The handshake issue was also discussed earlier when Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Ali Agha did not shake hands with the pitch.
