Dubai
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has asked for the match referee Andy Pycroft to be removed from the Asia Cup after India’s players refused to shake hands with the Pakistan team following their match in Dubai on Sunday.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said that Pycroft broke the rules related to sportsmanship and spirit of cricket. The PCB made a formal complaint to the International Cricket Council (ICC) asking for Pycroft’s immediate removal. This request was not mentioned earlier in the PCB’s statements.
India won the match by seven wickets. After the game, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube walked straight to their dressing room without shaking hands with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and his team. This surprised the Pakistani players, and their captain did not attend the post-match interview as a protest.
PCB said that the match referee told Salman before the toss not to shake hands with the Indian captain. The Pakistan team strongly protested this decision, calling it unfair.
Suryakumar Yadav dedicated India’s win to the victims of a recent terror attack in Pahalgam and praised Indian soldiers involved in Operation Sindoor. This incident has added more tension between the two cricket teams.