‘Let Asia Cup go to hell, let ICC go to hell’: Najam Sethi reveals mood in Pakistan camp during boycott threat

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had finalised the decision to boycott the Asia Cup 2025 after the Indian cricket team players refused to shake hands after a match last Sunday. But the decision was reversed at the very end due to the fears of the financial sanctions.

India will be taking on Pakistan once again in the Asia Cup on Sunday (21 September) in a Super 4 contest, which is expected to be spicier than the group stage match.

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While India won that match, it would be remembered for the players refusing to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts to express solidarity with the Pahalgam terror attack victims. An enraged PCB demanded action against match referee Andy Pycroft, accusing the Zimbabwean of breaching the spirit of the game. They had also threatened a boycott of the group game against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which could have led to their elimination.

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The match was eventually played after an hour's delay and the former PCB chairman Najam Sethi has now revealed how he worked behind the scenes with current board chief Mohsin Naqvi to stop the boycott.

Najam Sethi reveals mood in PCB camp after no-handshake controversy

Sethi and Naqvi belong to different political groups, but came together as PCB protested against ICC’s decision not to take any action against Pycroft.

While Naqvi was hellbent on boycotting the tournament, Sethi explained how he brought an end to the boycott demand, fearing heavy financial sanctions that would have crippled Pakistan cricket.

“The decision was already taken. The mood was such that, ‘under public pressure, let’s boycott. Let the Asia Cup go to hell, let the ICC go to hell.’ My attitude has always been that you should stay within legal boundaries and not leave the international arena. When I was called, my friends told me, ‘Don’t go, don’t support him.’ I hadn’t gone to support Mr. Mohsin Naqvi. I went to help the Pakistan Cricket Board,” Sethi told Samaa TV.

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“If what he was attempting had succeeded, Pakistan would have suffered irreparable damage. We could have been sanctioned by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), penalized by the International Cricket Council (ICC), foreign players might have refused to play in the PSL, and we stood to lose $15 million in ACC broadcasting rights. It would have been an existential crisis for PCB.”

Naqvi had also explained earlier this week during a press conference how PCB reached its decision not to boycott the UAE match.

“As you all know, there has been a crisis going on since 14th September. We had objections about the role of the match referee (Andy Pycroft). Just a short while back, the match referee had a conversation with the team coach, captain and manager. He said that this incident (no handshakes) should not have happened. We had also requested the ICC earlier to set up an inquiry on the code violation during the match. We believe that politics and sports can’t go together. This is sports, and let it remain a sport. Cricket should be separate from all this.

“I requested Sethi saab and Rameez Raja saab. If we had to go for a boycott, which was a very big decision – the prime minister, government officials and lots of other people were also involved, and we got their full support. We were monitoring the issue,” Naqvi had said.

Interestingly, Pycorft is set to be the match referee once again in the India vs Pakistan match on Sunday.