Handshake row swells, Pak want referee ousted

The Indian players’ refusal to exchange handshakes with their Pakistani counterparts after an Asia Cup clash here snowballed into a major controversy on Monday as an irate Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sought the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft, holding him responsible for the fiasco that has stirred fresh tensions between the two arch-rivals.

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India captain Suryakumar Yadav had justified his team’s stand after the seven-wicket win on Sunday, stating that it was meant to show solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were gunned down by Pakistan-backed terrorists.

This was after the team drew severe backlash for playing against the traditional foes. The PCB reacted angrily to the entire turn of events and after complaining to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), it has now sought the ICC’s intervention. Incidentally, PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi is the current head of the ACC, while the ICC is helmed by India’s Jay Shah. The Asia Cup, however, is not an ICC event and is managed by the ACC.

“The PCB has lodged a complaint with the ICC regarding violations by the match referee of the ICC code of conduct and the MCC laws pertaining to the spirit of cricket. The PCB has demanded the immediate removal of the match referee from the Asia Cup,” Naqvi said on X.

The PCB had earlier stated that Pycroft “asked (Pakistan) captain Salman Ali Agha, at the time of the toss, not to shake hands with his Indian counterpart”. Pakistan team manager Naved Cheema has also filed a complaint with the ACC alleging that it was on Pycroft’s insistence that team sheets weren’t exchanged between the two skippers as is the norm.

The BCCI is yet to respond to the PCB’s statements, but it is reliably learnt that if India make the tournament’s final on September 28, the players won’t be sharing the presentation dais with Naqvi, who is expected to hand over the winner’s trophy as the ACC head.

Both teams avoided bumping into each other during the customary warm-up and then at the toss, the rival skippers handed over their respective team sheets to Pycroft.

“Team manager Naveed Cheema lodged a strong protest against Indian players’ behaviour of not shaking hands. It was deemed as unsporting. As a protest, we did not send our captain to the post-match ceremony,” read a PCB statement issued earlier.

India’s stand, which will be discussed and debated for some time to come, was in stark contrast to the apolitical position that players tend to maintain when it comes to Pakistan.

“Together, we came here, we took a call and I feel we came here just to play the game. I think we gave the proper reply,” Suryakumar replied to a query when asked about the stance taken by his team.

When a Pakistani journalist asked whether the refusal to shake hands with opposition players after the seven-wicket win was “politically motivated”, the skipper replied: “I feel a few things in life are ahead of sportsman’s spirit also. We stand with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and dedicate this victory to our armed forces.”