Asia Cup 2025: Pakistan claim match referee Andy Pycroft apologised, paving way for UAE clash to go ahead
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Asia Cup 2025: Pakistan claim match referee Andy Pycroft apologised, paving way for UAE clash to go ahead")
Asia Cup 2025: Pakistan claim match referee Andy Pycroft apologised, paving way for UAE clash to go ahead Photograph: (AFP)
On Sunday, India won the match against Pakistan by seven wickets at the Dubai International Stadium as Suryakumar Yadav and other players decided to walk directly to the pavilion instead of shaking hands with Pakistani players, leading to the controversy.
It was an evening full of drama at the Asia Cup 2025 on Wednesday (Sep 18) as Pakistan were reported to have boycotted their clash against hosts UAE after they continued to protest against match referee Andy Pycroft. Part of Pakistan’s protest had seen them delay their arrival at the Dubai International Stadium as the clash was in limbo. However, that air was cleared later in the evening when Pakistan eventually took the field against the UAE in a do-or-die contest against the UAE.
Pakistan claim Andy Pycroft apologised
According to a statement released by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), their claim states that match referee Pycroft had apologised for the miscommunication that led to the protest before the UAE match. Pakistan had initially reported Pycroft to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) before taking the same to the International Cricket Council (ICC). PCB had demanded the removal of Pycroft as match referee who was in charge of the India vs Pakistan clash on Sunday, where the former emerged victorious.
"Andy Pycroft had barred the captains of India and Pakistan from shaking hands during their match," the statement said. "The Pakistan Cricket Board had strongly reacted to Andy Pycroft's actions. Andy Pycroft termed the September 14 incident a result of miscommunication and apologised. The ICC has expressed its willingness to conduct an inquiry into the code of conduct violation that occurred during the September 14 match."
India won the match by seven wickets at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday as Suryakumar Yadav and other players decided to walk directly to the pavilion instead of shaking hands with Pakistani players.
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Pakistan took offense to the situation and wanted match referee Pycroft to take action against the Men in Blue. However, no such action was taken, which led to a protest from PCB against the referee.
Pakistan vs UAE goes ahead
At the time of writing, the Pakistan vs UAE clash went ahead with a delay as the toss took place at 8:30 PM IST with the first ball being bowled at 9:00 IST, an hour after the initial start time. At the time of writing, Pakistan were 86/4 in 13.1 overs, having been put into bat after UAE captain Muhammad Waseem won the toss.
