Asia Cup 2025: ICC mulling on PCB's second mail seeking Andy Pycroft's removal
The PCB demand stems from the much-debated no-handshake row between India and Pakistan following their group-stage encounter in the eight-team tournament on September 14 in Dubai.
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The uncertainty regarding Pakistan’s participation in the remainder of the 2025 Asia Cup continues amid Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) resolute demand to remove Andy Pycroft from the roster of match referees.
The International Cricket Council (ICC), which had previously rejected the demand, stating that such removal will set an incorrect precedent, especially since there is no legitimate ground to do so, is reportedly mulling over the demand following a second letter from the Pakistan board.
The PCB demand stems from the much-debated no-handshake row between India and Pakistan following their group-stage encounter in the eight-team tournament on September 14 in Dubai.
PCB seeks ICC referee Pycroft’s removal after Asia Cup row
While it was believed that a middle ground was reached following the intervention of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), the situation has seemingly swung the wrong way again, with merely hours left for the Pakistan-UAE clash, a virtual knockout.
As per a Cricbuzz report, the ECB-mediated negotiation between the ICC and PCB had reached a conclusion after it was proposed that Richie Richardson, instead of Pycroft, would officiate in the Pakistan-UAE clash, even as Pycroft will stay in the panel of match officials in the tournament.
“Under the discussed arrangement, Pycroft would have continued in the tournament, but he would have been taken off the roster for Wednesday's game between Pakistan and the UAE. Richie Richardson, the other ICC referee on the panel, was suggested as a replacement for that match. It is not yet known whether this arrangement has been accepted,” the report states.
The mediation involving ECB officials was necessitated in the aftermath of Pakistan’s stance to pull out from the tournament in the event of Pycroft’s non-removal. The PCB, through its chairman Mohsin Naqvi – also the current president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) – had alleged that Pycroft’s request to the captains to not shake hands at the toss was a manifest violation of ICC Code of Conduct and the MCC Laws pertaining to the Spirit of Cricket.
"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," Naqvi, who is the chairman of the PCB, had said in a social media post on Monday.
While a handshake at the toss and following the conclusion of the game has been a long-standing tradition in the game, it is not mandatory as per the MCC's Spirit of Cricket manual, which directs the players to display respect towards their opponent and thank the officials and opposition at the end of the match. However, the handshakes remain merely a non-binding suggestion, and not a cricketing law.
In this backdrop, the ICC had rejected the PCB's demand regarding Pycroft’s expulsion. As it stands, consensus remains elusive with time running out.
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