Asia Cup 2025: Richie Richardson to replace referee Andy Pycroft in Pakistan matches amid handshake controversy

After much back-and-forth, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has withdrawn its pullout threat and will field the team in its last Asia Cup group league game against the UAE in Dubai on Wednesday.

PCB sources told news agency PTI that a "middle-of-the-road" agreement was reached under which match referee Andy Pycroft will not officiate matches involving Pakistan, with Richie Richardson being summoned to do duty in their must-win fixture.

What's the controversy?

The PCB had asked for the removal of Pycroft from the tournament, citing violations of ICC rules and regulations.

Pakistan's plea came after their loss in Sunday's match against India, when the Indian players refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts as a mark of respect to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.

Last Sunday's seven-wicket defeat to India was the first time the rivals had faced off in cricket since the countries fought a brief but deadly border conflict in May.

Shaking hands before and after the match has been a longstanding practice in cricket. However, the Indian players declined to shake hands with their counterparts after their emphatic win. In response, Pakistan pulled out of the post-match presentation.

The handshake row escalated after the PCB lodged a complaint against match referee Andy Pycroft, accusing him of violating the ICC Code of Conduct and the MCC laws relating to the spirit of cricket.

Pakistan had also threatened to pull out of the tournament if a decision wasn't in their favour.

On Tuesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC ) officially rejected the PCB's demand to remove match referee Andy Pycroft from the panel of officials for the Asia Cup 2025.

Incidentally, the rejection letter that the PCB received from the ICC was signed by its general manager, Waseem Khan, who was formerly the beleaguered cricket board's CEO.

Pycroft is one of the senior match referees in the ICC Elite Panel, with 695 international games (men's and women's across three formats) to his credit.

Pakistan cancelled a pre-match press conference at the Asia Cup 2025 on Tuesday as the fallout rumbles on from a handshake row with arch-rivals India. The Pakistan team did, however, turn up for practice on the eve of Wednesday's group game against hosts the UAE, news agency PTI reported.

India-Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 recap

Coming to the match, Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first and were reduced to 6/2.

A 39-run stand between Sahibzada Farhan (40 in 44 balls, with a four and three sixes) and Fakhar Zaman (17 in 15 balls, with three fours) stabilised the innings a bit, but India reduced Pakistan to 97/8. A late blitz from Shaheen Shah Afridi (33* in 16 balls, with four sixes) took them to 127/9 in 20 overs.

Kuldeep Yadav (3/18) was the pick of the bowlers for India, with Axar Patel (2/18) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/28) getting two wickets. Hardik Pandya got one wicket.

During the run chase, India lost two wickets within the powerplay, with Abhishek Sharma's fine cameo of 31 (in 13 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) giving India a solid headstart.

Later, a 56-run stand between India skipper Suryakumar Yadav (47* in 37 balls, with five fours and a six) and Tilak Varma (31 in 31 balls, with two fours) brought back some stability.

It was Suryakumar who did the majority of the striking later, sticking around with Shivam Dube (10*) till the end and taking India to a win with seven wickets and 25 balls left.

Kuldeep Yadav won the 'Player of the Match' award for his spell. Now, India is at the top of Group A with two wins in two matches.

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