 "Pakistan reportedly made wrong claims about Andy Pycroft apologising to the team. Image: PCB video")
The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) strategy of releasing video footage of match referee Andy Pycroft, claiming the 69-year-old was apologising to its team management, has backfired as the International Cricket Council (ICC) has refuted statements made by the cricket board.
After India refused to shake hands with Pakistan players in their Asia Cup 2025 match, PCB picked on Zimbabwean Pycroft for stopping the handshakes at the toss, demanding his removal for the tournament or they will boycott the match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) , which would lead to their elimination.
The ICC also played hardball and refused to bend down despite PCB shooting two letters and the Pakistan vs UAE match getting delayed by an hour on Wednesday.
Eventually, PCB agreed to a compromise, and the match finally took place as Pakistan won by 41 runs and booked a Super Four match against India next Sunday.
“ICC’s controversial match referee Andy Pycroft has apologized to the manager and captain of the Pakistani cricket team. Andy Pycroft had prohibited the captains of both teams from shaking hands during the India-Pakistan match," PCB said in a statement on X.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board had strongly reacted to Andy Pycroft’s action. Andy Pycroft termed the incident on September 14 as a result of miscommunication and apologized," it added.
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More ShortsPakistan puts out Pycroft apology video, but ICC disputes claim
They went on to release a video of Pycroft talking to Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha, coach Mike Hesson and team manager Naveed Akram Cheema. This was labeled as the video of Pycroft apologising to Pakistan for his mistakes. However, it has no audio.
The ICC sources have refuted Pakistan’s claims, stating that Pycroft did not apologise to the Pakistan captain or PCB for stopping the handshake; he only apologised for the miscommunication. However, the responsibility for the miscommunication lies with the Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) venue manager.
“The PCB was within its rights to lodge a complaint, but the ICC inquiry concluded with no findings of wrongdoing by Andy Pycroft; he was found not guilty in this matter,” ICC sources said.
“Andy Pycroft has apologized only for miscommunication; the venue manager bears responsibility for the miscommunication.”
It has been reported that the Pycroft was only following ACC’s diktat when he asked the captain to avoid handshakes at the toss, but the Pakistan captain was not aware of the ‘No Handshake’ policy that was in place . Also, ACC is headed by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, which makes it clear that PCB was well aware of the ‘No Handshake’ policy for the India vs Pakistan match, but still went on to create a big drama.
The PCB has also claimed that ICC would conduct further investigation into the handshake issue, but sources said that any further probe will only take place after fresh evidence is provided.
“The PCB seeks a further investigation but has not provided evidence to substantiate their claims,” a source said.