The India-Pakistan clash in the Asia Cup 2025 is going to illuminate Dubai, but the spotlight again isn’t just on the cricket. Match referee Andy Pycroft, the man at the eye of the storm in the much-talked-about “no-handshake” fiasco in the group stages, will be again the man in charge of the battle. The off-field controversy that followed India’s seven-wicket victory over Pakistan last Sunday has dominated the build-up ever since, with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) blaming Pycroft for the same.
“Andy Pycroft actually saved everybody from seeing such a poor spectacle,” Ashwin said on his YouTube show ‘Ash Ki Baat’. “India informed the match referee in advance – this is our decision, and we will follow it. That’s it. After all this drama, you lost the match. So what are you complaining about? You didn’t lose because we didn’t shake hands. Please go and find out what you can actually improve.”
Before the Super Four match, ex-Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin lashed out at Pakistan for vilifying Pycroft. According to Ashwin, the board made him the fall guy rather than place the onus on the team’s own failures on the field.
“If no handshake was your problem with India, why were you looking for an answer to that problem in the UAE game? Why did you have to make Andy Pycroft the scapegoat? He has done nothing wrong,” he said.
“He is not a schoolteacher. He’s not a principal. He can’t go and bring Surya and say, ‘Come shake hands’. That’s not his job. What exactly is Pycroft’s fault here?”
“Whether it’s a corporate office, a government firm, or a cricket team – when there’s an organisational directive, you follow it. Our players were clear: they were here to represent India, and they followed protocol. The cricketers also communicated their stance – they said, ‘We don’t want to shake hands.’ That’s our side of the story. The matter should end there.”
“You filed a complaint against India, and when the dust settles, you’re saying Pycroft apologised? If I were Andy Pycroft, you are apologising to me. What would I even be apologising for? ‘I’m sorry that Suryakumar Yadav didn’t shake your hand’? Really? That’s the apology you expect?”
The row started when Indian players avoided the post-match handshake after they won, something the PCB had alleged was in breach of spirit-of-cricket. It was later confirmed that the BCCI had alerted the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) prior to the decision and that Pycroft had merely conveyed the message to Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha before the toss.
In spite of such clarity, the PCB postponed their match with the UAE by an hour, going so far as to threaten withdrawal from the tournament before relenting. Today, as the arch-rivals face each other for another high-pressure encounter, the attention is not only on the players but also on the umpire in the middle.
