Former Zimbabwe international player and current ICC match referee Andy Pycroft has been the Pakistan cricket team and PCB’s enemy no.1 in the past few days.
The PCB filed multiple complaints to the ICC to remove him from all Pakistan matches in the Asia Cup 2025, especially since they felt that the no-handshake drama afer the India vs Pakistan Group A game on September 14. They even threatened to pull out of the tournament. However, in a surprising development, it has come to the fore that Pycroft actually saved Pakistan captain Salman Agha from major embarrassment.
According to a report by Sports Tak, Andy Pycroft got to know from the venue manager that the Indian players would not be shaking hands with any of the Pakistan players, a decision taken in accordance with the BCCI and the Indian government, just four minutes before the toss. The PCB officials have argued that Pycroft did not inform them beforehand of the no-handshake incident. Pycroft argued that he did not have time to convey this message.
He thus chose to inform of this situation to Salman Agha before the toss. This, according to Pycroft, prevented an embarrassing public snub where the Pakistan captain would have outstretched his arm after the toss, but Suryakumar Yadav would just walk past ignoring him.
Did Andy Pycroft Apologize To PCB?
The PCB claimed in a public statement that Andy Pycroft had “apologised to the manager and captain of the Pakistan cricket team.”, even sharing a video without any sound claiming the same. But sources familiar with the matter clarified it was not a formal apology, only an “expression of regret over the misunderstanding and miscommunication” that had taken place.
The ICC had already addressed Pakistan’s complaint on September 15, saying it had “carefully investigated” the incident and found “no case to answer on the part of Mr. Pycroft.” Its review, which included discussions with Pycroft, other match officials, and tournament director Andrew Russell, concluded that the referee was “not at fault” in any way.