Asia Cup: India vs Pakistan - Are Pakistan justified in their request for removal of match referee Andy Pycroft? EXPLAINED

India-Pakistan matches are known to produce drama and thrills in extremes. The latest duel between the two sides in the Asia Cup was, however, a damp squib in terms of the cricket but you cannot keep drama out of this marquee clash, can you? While India put on a ruthless act to dismantle Pakistan by seven wickets and 25 balls to spare, the center of attention was regarding a non-cricketing event just after the match had concluded. In the firing line is match referee Andy Pycroft who is facing the heat from the Pakistan team and Pakistan Cricket Board.

Handshakes between opposition players after a cricket match is a part of the sport's folklore and imprinted in the game's very definition of being a 'gentleman's game'. However, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav, who hit the winning runs, promptly walked off the field with his batting partner Shivam Dube without shaking hands with the Pakistan players. Salman Ali Agha, Pakistan's captain, was seen talking to the umpires at the time as he and his teammates waited for the Indian team to come over for the handshakes. Yadav and Dube went to the Indian dressing room and just shut the door. Later, the Indian captain came out but that was only for the presentation ceremony.

If you thought that this was first instance of this event happening in this game, you are wrong. At the toss, Yadav refused to even have eye contact with Agha after the Pakistan captain had won the toss. There is more to this. Apparently, Pycroft had told Agha before the toss not to shake hands with Yadav, something that took the Pakistan skipper wasn't pleased with. There was an unspoken decision in the Asian Cricket Council to employ a 'no handshake' directive on the India-Pakistan game, a decision that understandably stemmed through a request from the Indian camp.

However, where Pycroft erred is in his miscommunication of the matter to the Pakistan camp. His request to Agha at the toss was sudden and only after the game ended did Pycroft inform the Pakistan camp about such a pre-defined decision by the organizers. Therefore, Pakistan's anger is justified, although it is difficult to fault Suryakumar and the Indians for the stand that they had taken regarding the handshakes. While the Indian captain skipped post-match handshakes with the opponents, his Pakistan counterpart responded by not appearing for the post-match presentation chat that was hosted by Sanjay Manjrekar.

According to the rules, Pycroft's act of taking a stand for one team borders on bias and is unethical, given his responsibilities as a chief match official in the game. Furthermore, his failure to communicate such a sensitive matter clearly puts him further in guilty waters. The ICC Code of Conduct for umpires and match officials states that such conduct is 'contrary to the spirit of the game', which makes it a Level 2 offence from Pycroft, given that the fundamental duty of match officials is to maintain the dignity of the Laws of Cricket and uphold its traditional values of which handshakes are a significant part.

Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi, also the chairman of Asian Cricket Council, was livid with the incident and took to the social media site X to vent his feelings.

"Utterly disappointed by the lack of sportsmanship today. Dragging politics into the game goes against the very spirit of sports. Let's hope future victories are celebrated by all teams with grace," Naqvi wrote.

Mike Hesson, Pakistan's head coach, was also put into this furnace of India-Pakistan rivalry and clearly, the New Zealander was disappointed by the turn of events. People from New Zealand are generally likeable characters who like to keep the 'spirit of the game' as a priority and Hesson is no different. He does, however, understand that different dynamics that India-Pakistan rivalry brings but still didn't seem pleased with India's antics.

"We were ready to shake hands at the end of the game, we obviously are disappointed that our opposition didn't do that," said Hesson in the post-match chat.

"We sort of went over there to shake hands and they'd already gone into the changing room. That was a disappointing way for the match to finish, and a match we were disappointed for the way we played but we were certainly willing to shake hands."

While talking at the post-match press conference, Yadav was clear about his team's stand on the whole matter and didn't mince any words at all.

"Our government and BCCI, we were aligned. Together, we came here, we took a call and I feel we came here just to play the game. And we gave the proper reply," said Yadav.

"See how it is, I feel a few things in life are ahead of sportsman spirit."

From a neutral point of view, both the teams have a fair point and this only proves that Pycroft has erred as a match official in handling such a delicate incident.