Pycroft given a few moments’ notice before handshake-gate saying he was merely the messenger of India’s decision.
Only minutes prior to the toss of the India-Pakistan match on September 14, Andy Pycroft, the ICC match referee at the core of the issue that almost caused the 2025 Asia Cup to fail, was informed that the two captains were not to shake hands. Right then, he thought of himself as a messenger, not a giver of commands. The PCB later filed a complaint against Pycroft, alleging that he had violated both the spirit of cricket and ICC standards. The PCB also demanded that Pycroft be removed from the competition.
Information about the hectic schedule of events leading up to the two Pakistani games on September 14 and 17 has started to surface. An official claimed that the incident started “four minutes before the toss” in Sunday’s Pakistan vs. India match. The ACC site manager informed Pycroft as he entered the pitch that the captains, Salman Agha and Suryakumar Yadav, were not to shake hands, as the BCCI had informed them with the Indian government’s consent.
Pycroft is thought to have claimed he did not have time to notify the ICC about this unusual request, but PCB officials contended that Pycroft should have done so. He would have consulted the ICC if he had had more time. In the notion that he was preventing a potentially humiliating public moment if Agha went to shake hands with Suryakumar and was ignored, he instead informed Agha of the situation just before the toss.
The ICC has never viewed Pycroft’s choice as a violation of any rule of conduct; rather, it was a decision that he was permitted to make in the course of his duties as a match official assigned to oversee the game.
With uncertainty surrounding Pakistan’s crucial match against the United Arab Emirates and the PCB threatening to withdraw from the tournament if Pycroft, who was rostered for the match, wasn’t reallocated, the problem reached a climax on Wednesday. After a hurriedly scheduled, open-air discussion between Pycroft and the Pakistani team management, the match finally proceeded after an hour’s delay.
Although individuals with knowledge of the matter argue that Pycroft’s “expression of regret over the misunderstanding and miscommunication” surrounding the incident was not an apology, the PCB claimed in a statement that Pycroft had “apologised to the manager and captain of the Pakistan cricket team.”