Dubai: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has threatened to pull out its team from their next match of the ongoing Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 if the International Cricket Council (ICC) does not pull out match referee Andy Pycroft for his alleged inappropriate handling of things during Sunday’s match and the handshake snub by the Indian players.

The PCB has objected to Pycroft telling its captain, Salman Ali Agh, not to shake hands with India skipper Suryakumar Yadav at the toss and claims he failed to dissuade the Indians from engaging in behaviour contrary to sportsmanship and the spirit of the game.

The PCB threatened to boycott their next match in the Asia Cup in their letter to the ICC seeking Pycroft’s removal as a match referee, according to a report in Telecom Asia Sport.

“It is learnt that Pakistan has threatened, in the letter, that they will boycott the next match if Pycroft is not removed,” said the report on www.telecomasia.net.

Sources also told Telecom Asia Sport that Usman Wahla, PCB’s director for international cricket, has been suspended for delaying the protest letter.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has filed a strong protest with the ICC and the Asian Cricket Council against match referee Pycroft.

The Zimbabwean, who served as match referee, took Agha to one side before the toss and advised him not to try a handshake with Suryakumar.

“How can a match referee tell a captain not to shake hands with the other captain?” the letter asked.

The report said that the PCB letter has claimed that Pycroft took Suryakumar to one side and conveyed to him the same message about no handshake. “Pycroft told the same thing to the Indian skipper and later told the Pakistan team media manager not to record his conversation and movement,” the report quoted a PCB source as saying.

The report also claimed that Pycroft and Tournament Director Andre Russell told Cheema that no handshake was as per the policy of the Indian government and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and they were bound to follow that.

Cheema, sources said, conveyed the rules of MCC, which said handshake and proper behaviour are mandatory for the teams while playing a match.

The PCB has also quoted the same MCC rules and argued that Pycroft failed to ensure implementation of the rules and therefore should be removed as match referee.

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–IANS