Pakistan Cricket Board protests Team India’s handshake snub
The PCB’s contention is that Pycroft at the toss before the match asked both captains not to follow the norm of shaking hands after the flip of the coin
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday demanded that Andy Pycroft, the match referee for Sunday’s game against India, be removed from the Asia Cup, accusing the Zimbabwe official of violating the “spirit of cricket” by asking both captains to not shake hands, even as India skipper Suryakumar Yadav clarified it was his team’s call.
The PCB’s contention is that Pycroft at the toss before the match asked both captains not to follow the norm of shaking hands after the flip of the coin. It alleged that Pycroft, the former Zimbabwe international, did this at the Indian team’s behest.
“The PCB has lodged a complaint with the ICC regarding violations by the Match Referee of the ICC Code of Conduct and the MCC Laws pertaining to the Spirit of Cricket. The PCB has demanded an immediate removal of the Match Referee from the Asia Cup,” Mohsin Naqvi, PCB chairman said in a social media post. Naqvi, the Pakistan interior minister, is also the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president.
The PCB has claimed that Pycroft “asked (Pakistan) captain Salman Ali Agha, at the time of the toss, not to shake hands with his Indian counterpart”.
The Indian team departed from the tradition of shaking hands with the opposition. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav did not shake hands with Agha at the toss and the India squad members did not have the customary handshake with the Pakistan team after their seven-wicket win.
In response, Pakistan did not send Agha for the post-match presentation interview with the broadcaster. They also lodged a complaint with ACC. “Team manager Naveed Cheema lodged a strong protest against the Indian players’ behaviour of not shaking hands. It was deemed as unsporting and against the spirit of the game. As a protest we did not send our captain to the post-match ceremony,” the PCB said in a statement.
While Naqvi heads the ACC, the BCCI holds the hosting rights for the tournament.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the ACC did not comment on the issue. Pycroft is due to officiate in Pakistan’s next match against the UAE on Wednesday. Although it is an ACC event, match referees come from the ICC’s panel.
At the post-match presentation on Sunday, Suryakumar said: “Perfect occasion, taking the time out – we stand by the families of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack. We express our solidarity. Want to dedicate the win to all our armed forces who showed a lot of bravery. Hope they continue to inspire us all and we give them more reasons on the ground whenever we get an opportunity to make them smile.”
Later in the post-match media conference, he defended India’s decision to not shake hands with the Pakistan players. “Our government and BCCI, we were aligned,” he said. “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 (with a win).”
Asked if this act was politically motivated and went against the spirit of sport, he said: “See, I think a few things in life are ahead of sportsman spirit also.”
India head coach Gautam Gambhir also dedicated the win to the victims of the Pahalgam attack in a post-match interview with the broadcaster.
Sunday’s game was the first between the India and Pakistan cricket teams since the attack in Jammu and Kashmir in April where 26 civilians were killed. In May, India’s armed forces launched Operation Sindoor that targeted Pakistani terror infrastructure and led to a tense military standoff between the neighbours.
The government recently took a policy decision to allow India to play against Pakistan only in multi-nation tournaments across sport, with an eye on India’s ambition to host the 2036 Olympics.
