The Pakistan Cricket Board has called for match referee Andy Pycroft to be suspended from the Asia Cup as a row escalates over India’s refusal to shake hands on the field.
The sides met in Dubai on Sunday, the first match between the rivals since a major political dispute between the countries earlier this year.
India won the game by seven wickets but pointedly abandoned the traditional display of respect at the end of the game.
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha refused to speak at the post-match presentation, while his opponent Suryakumar Yadav dedicated the victory to his country’s armed forces.
The PCB has now called for Pycroft to be suspended from the tournament, reportedly due to the Zimbabwean’s handling of the draw, which also resulted in no handshake between the captains.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi wrote on X: “The PCB has filed a complaint with the ICC regarding the match referee’s violations of the ICC Code of Conduct and ICC laws relating to the spirit of cricket. The PCB has demanded the immediate suspension of the match referee from the Asian Cup.”
Sky News has reached out to the ICC for comment and world cricket’s governing body has yet to publicly respond.
The development comes after the PCB issued a statement in Urdu to domestic media late last night, calling Pycroft’s decision “against sportsmanship” and saying team manager Naveed Akram Cheema had registered a “formal protest against the conduct of the match referee” with the International Cricket Council.
“It is extremely disappointing to see the lack of sportsmanship,” PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi wrote in a post on X.
“Weaving politics into the game goes against the very spirit of the sport. Let’s hope future victories are celebrated with grace by all teams.”
In the Asia Cup, India defeated Pakistan by seven wickets.
Suryakumar, who scored the victory for India, did not wait for the traditional handshake with the opposition players after the match and went to the dressing room along with his teammate Shivam Dube.
In response, Agha skipped the post-match television interview with former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar. Pakistan coach Mike Hesson called the move a “knock-on effect”.
“We were ready to shake hands at the end of the game and we’re obviously disappointed that our opponents didn’t do that,” added Hesson, a New Zealander appointed to the Pakistan post in May.
“We kind of walked up there to shake hands and they went into the locker room. It was a disappointing way to end the match and in this match we were disappointed with the way we played, but we were certainly ready to shake hands.”
India and Pakistan can only meet in multi-team tournaments
Sunday’s game was the first between top cricket teams India and Pakistan since the Pahalgam attack in April when gunmen opened fire on a group of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
India is the designated host of the eight-nation Asia Cup, but the T20 tournament is being held in the United Arab Emirates as the India and Pakistan cricket teams do not play on each other’s soil.
There was also uncertainty over India’s participation in the Asia Cup until the government clarified that cricketers would be allowed to compete against Pakistan in multinational tournaments.
Suryakumar said the Indian team had agreed to the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the government’s instructions that players should not shake hands with Pakistani players.
India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav and batting partner Shivam Dube immediately left the field instead of shaking hands in the middle as is usually the case.
“Our government and the BCCI are united today,” Suryakumar said at the post-match press conference. “We came here just to play this game. We stand with all the victims of the Pahalgam attacks, support their families and express our solidarity.”
Both teams are likely to play again in the Super 4 stage later this week if they finish first and second in Group A. India and Pakistan will also meet at the Women’s World Cup on October 5, live Sky Sport.