Asia Cup 2025 was witness to huge drama on Wednesday, as at one point it looked like Pakistan might pull out of the continental event
Asia Cup 2025 was witness to huge drama on Wednesday, as at one point it looked like Pakistan might pull out of the continental event. This was because they did not leave their hotel at the scheduled time for the game against the UAE. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had been threatening a boycott after Indian players, led by Suryakumar Yadav, did not shake hands with the Pakistan side on September 14, leaving them in an embarrassing situation. The PCB was unhappy with the role of match referee Andy Pycroft, alleging him to be biased. The PCB even complained to the International Cricket Council (ICC), seeking the removal of Pycroft from the Asia Cup.
However, the ICC gave a six-point rebuttal to the PCB, maintaining that the Board’s complaints were baseless. In fact, Pycroft was the match referee for the Pakistan vs. UAE Asia Cup 2025 match.
PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the Asian Cricket Council Chief, explained the decision behind the team not pulling out.
“As you all know, there has been a crisis going on since September 14. We had objections about the role of the match referee. Just a short while ago, the match referee had a conversation with the team coach, captain, and manager. He said that the incident (no handshakes) should not have happened. We had also requested the ICC earlier to set up an inquiry into the code violation during the match,” Naqvi told reporters on Wednesday.
“We believe that politics and sports can’t go together. This is sport, and let it remain a sport. Cricket should be separate from all this. I requested Sethi Saab and Rameez Raja Saab. If we had to go for a boycott, which was a very big decision, the prime minister, government officials, and many other people were also involved, and we got their full support. We were monitoring the issue.”
Mohsin Naqvi’s Press Conference along with Former PCB Chairmen Ramiz Raja and Najam Sethi on Misconduct of ICC Match Referee Andy Pycroft and Indian Teampic.twitter.com/yeuukxx4My
— Pakistan Cricket Team USA FC (@DoctorofCricket) September 17, 2025
The ICC, in its letter to the PCB, said: “The ICC’s investigation was conducted on the basis of the information provided in the report lodged by the PCB. We took the report at face value and note that no supporting documentation or evidence was provided with it.
“The PCB had every opportunity to submit statements from its team members alongside the initial report but chose not to do so.” The world body said that there was “no case to answer” on the part of the match referee.
“The actions that the match referee took, following clear directions from the ACC (Asian Cricket Council) Venue Manager, were consistent with how a match referee would deal with such an issue, communicated as it was with no time for him to do anything else (minutes before the toss).”
The ICC was clear that Pycroft was committed to “preserving the sanctity of the toss and avoiding any potential embarrassment that might have arisen.”
“The Match Referee was not at fault in any of this. It is not the role of the Match Referee to regulate team or tournament-specific protocols which have been agreed upon outside of the area of play; that is a matter for the tournament organizers and relevant team managers,” the ICC added.
