ICC match referee Andy Pycroft has apologised to Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha over the handshake controversy, saying it was a "miscommunication". This comes after the Pakistan Cricket Board threatened to boycott its Asia Cup 2025 group match against the UAE on Wednesday.
"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," the PCB said. "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."
Pycroft, a former Zimbabwe cricketer, who asked the captains of the two teams to avoid shaking hands during toss, will not officiate the matches played by Pakistan for the remainder of the tournament. The Indian players also did not shake hands with the Pakistan players even after the match to support the victims of Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians on April 22.
The referee's apology was conveyed to captain Agha as well as the team manager. Ahead of the match against the UAE, Pakistan delayed their departure from the hotel in protest against ICC's refusal to remove Pycroft.
ICC has reportedly expressed its willingness to probe the Code of Conduct violation during the match against India.
However, sources in ICC said the apology was only for the "miscommunication". "...and the ICC will only conduct its investigation when the PCB furnishes further evidence as to what was Pycroft's fault," the source told PTI.
If Pakistan boycotted the match, the PCB could have lost up to $16 million.