India-Pak handshake row: PCB demands match referee Pycroft's removal from Asia cup

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday demanded immediate removal of match referee Andy Pycroft from the ongoing Asia Cup, alleging violation of the apex body's code of conduct by him during the game against India here.

The 69-year-old Pycroft, who is a former Zimbabwe player, officiated the match at the end of which Indian players did not shake hands with the rival team.

The PCB has lodged a formal complaint against him with the ICC even though the world body is not conducting the tournament that falls under the purview of the Asian Cricket Council (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 an immediate removal of the Match Referee from the Asia Cup,” PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi said on 'X'.

Naqvi is, incidentally, also heading the ACC right now.

Pakistan had earlier taken up the issue with the ACC, labelling the Indian players' conduct as “unsporting”.

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

While matters have escalated now, it all began at the coin toss for the Group A contest when Suryakumar and his Pakistan counterpart Salman Ali Agha did not engage in the customary handshake, drawing the attention of the cricket fraternity.

PCB has claimed that it was referee Pycroft who asked the captains to skip the pre-match handshake ritual. India skipper Suryakumar Yadav and his Pakistan counterpart Salman Ali Agha also refused to make eye contact.

India's 'No Handshake' policy could be repeated as both teams are likely to meet two more times in the remainder of the tournament.

Suryakumar had earlier justified the decision to not shake hands with the opposition, saying it was their way of showing solidarity with the families of the Pahalgam terrorist attack victims.

Twenty-six Indian tourists were killed by Pakistan-backed terrorists, prompting India to launch Operation Sindoor in retaliation.

The arch-rivals faced each other on a cricket ground for the first time since the terror attack in Kashmir and the retaliatory strikes by India on terror infrastructure across the border in May.

A handshake between captains of both teams during coin toss before matches in international cricket is a convention and not specified as a rule.

On Sunday, both captains simply submitted their respective team sheets to Pycroft, spoke with TV commentator Ravi Shastri, who was conducting the toss, and headed back to their respective dressing rooms.

Later, the Pakistan skipper boycotted the TV presentation ceremony to protest India's refusal to shake hands after the match that India won by seven wickets.