The International Cricket Council (ICC) has reportedly chosen Andy Pycroft to officiate as a match referee in the upcoming high-stakes game between India and Pakistan for the ongoing Asia Cup 2025. The game on Sunday will see Pycroft standing as the match official, despite the Pakistan Cricket Board's displeasure, falsely alleging that he had breached the spirit of cricket after asking Suryakumar Yadav and Agha Salman to not shake hands at the toss or after the match in the previous clash on September
14 in Dubai.
Pycroft, a long-standing member of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Officials, had been given a clean chit by the global cricketing body after the PCB said that he had apologized for his acts. However, ICC said that no such apology was made by Pycroft, completely quashing the statements made, even ruling the Pakistani cricketing body by taking the matter in their own hands. As a result, all that PCB could do was delay their game against the UAE by an hour from the scheduled start, after a couple of days of failed negotiations.
Now that the things are all sorted between ICC, PCB, and the Asian Cricket Council, the game is expected to go as planned, with Pycroft appointed as the match referee, according to reports. The encounter will be held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, the same venue where the entire handshakegate episode happened, also resulting in Pakistani skipper Agha Salman deliberately skipping the post-match presentation. Both the sides will be playing their first Super Fours match after qualifying via the group stage fixtures.
How India and Pakistan qualified?
Notably, the Indians will be coming into the contest undefeated, with their latest win being against Oman. They beat the Jatinder Singh-led side by 21 runs in Abu Dhabi. India were also the only team from the Group A to enter the Super Fours without losing a single match. Earlier in the continental competition, the Suryakumar Yadav-led side played in Dubai, beating the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan by comprehensive margins.
Pakistan, on the other hand, qualified after beating the United Arab Emirates and Oman, while suffering a massive loss at the hands of the Men in Blue. They will be hoping to not face yet another defeat and extend their poor record in T20I cricket against their neighbouring nation. Agha Salman will have to plan his best to not let the Indians cut loose on Sunday, but a power-packed opposition will pose a great challenge for them.
