• Home
  • Cricket News
  • Icc To Reject Pakistans Match Referee Removal Demand Amid Handshake Fiasco With India Report

ICC To Reject Pakistan's Match Referee Removal Demand Amid Handshake Fiasco With India: Report

Aakash Saini

Pakistan team players during match against India [Source: AFP]Pakistan team players during match against India [Source: AFP]

The International Cricket Council (ICC) will reportedly be rejecting a huge demand as posed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) earlier on September 15. A day after Pakistan’s Group A Asia Cup 2025 match against arch-rivals India, the PCB demanded the ICC to take a strong action against match referee Andy Pycroft, accusing the latter for his alleged involvement in the entire ‘handshake’ fiasco between the two sides.

However, a recent report indicates that the ICC will not be replacing Pycroft, citing that the Zimbabwe-based match referee had, in fact, very little role in the entire episode.

Fresh Blow For Pakistan After Defeat To India

As reported by Cricbuzz, the ICC will be rejecting PCB’s demand of replacing match referee Andy Pycroft going ahead in the 2025 Men’s T20 Asia Cup in the UAE. The ICC is of the opinion that Pycroft had “very little role” in the handshake fiasco, the report further stated.

According to Pakistan, it was Andy Pycroft who advised ‘Men in Green’ captain Agha Salman not to shake hands with his Indian counterpart Suryakumar Yadav at the toss, something the PCB has now described it as an act that goes against the ‘spirit of cricket’.

PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), has accused the former Zimbabwe cricketer of violating the ICC Code of Conduct and demanded the ICC of his removal from the remainder of the tournament.

Moreover, another report earlier on September 15 even indicated that the Pakistan cricket team was threatening to boycott their Group A game against UAE if the apex council did not take an action against the referee.

Amid the heightened cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan, the entire ‘Men in Blue’ group refused to shake hands with Pakistani players after their Asia Cup match. Moreover, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav also avoided Agha Salman at the toss.