The handshake row between India and Pakistan continues to stir debate ahead of the Asia Cup Super 4 clash.
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has strongly defended match referee Andy Pycroft, who has been under fire from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Ashwin argued that Pycroft was simply carrying out his duties and not responsible for enforcing handshakes between players. “He’s not a school teacher or principal to drag players onto the field and make them shake hands. What exactly is his fault here?” Ashwin asked on his YouTube show Ash Ki Baat.
Ashwin accuses Pakistan of overreacting
He further accused Pakistan of overreacting, saying, “India had already informed the match referee of their decision. After all this drama, you lost the match – what are you even complaining about?”
PCB had twice written to the International Cricket Council (ICC), demanding Pycroft’s suspension. When both appeals were rejected, the board claimed in a video that the referee had apologised to them.
However, the ICC refuted this, clarifying that Pycroft had only expressed regret over a miscommunication and had never issued an apology. The council even went a step further, accusing PCB of breaching Players and Match Officials Area (PMOA) protocols—an allegation Pakistan denied.
Amidst the ongoing tensions, PCB avoided a pre-match press conference, with Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi responding vaguely when asked about the boycott: “We’ll talk soon.”
Despite Pakistan’s objections, the ICC has retained Pycroft as match referee for the upcoming high-voltage India-Pakistan encounter on September 21.
Notably, Pycroft was also in charge during the earlier India-Pakistan clash when the Men in Blue skipped the post-match handshake, a decision pre-communicated to him by team management.
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