Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) claims that ICC match referee has apologised for his actions during their Asia Cup Group A match in Dubai on Sunday. PCB claims Pycroft asked the two captains to not shake hands.
As a result, PCB delayed the departure of the Pakistan cricket team for Wednesday’s Asia Cup match with UAE before instructing the players to head to the venue. The match finally got underway after being delayed for an hour.
“ICC’s controversial match referee Andy Pycroft has apologized to the manager and captain of the Pakistani cricket team. Andy Pycroft had prohibited the captains of both teams from shaking hands during the India-Pakistan match,” the PCB said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
“The Pakistan Cricket Board had strongly
reacted to Andy Pycroft’s action. Andy Pycroft termed the incident on September 14 as a result of miscommunication and apologized,” it added.
PCB then posted a clip which was reshared with claims of Pycroft apologising to Pakistan captain Salman Agha. However, it was soon deleted from their official X handle.
🚨 Video clip of match referee Andy Pycroft apologising to Pakistan’s manager and captain. pic.twitter.com/VnBKM6ePBa
— Ihtisham Ul Haq (@iihtishamm) September 17, 2025
The Pakistan Board also claimed that the ICC would be investigating its complaint against Pycroft.
“The ICC has expressed its readiness to investigate the violation of the Code of Conduct during the match on September 14,” it stated.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav had said that the decision to avoid handshakes with Pakistan players was a gesture to express solidarity with victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which killed 26 people.
The ICC has defended Pycroft insisting that he did no wrong and went completely by the book.
After the fresh statement from the PCB, a source in the world body said the apology was only for the “miscommunication.”
“…and the ICC will only conduct its investigation when the PCB furnishes further evidence as to what was Pycroft’s fault,” the source said.
A forfeiture would have knocked Pakistan out of the tournament.
With PTI Inputs
