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News18 has learnt that Pakistan had a very weak case in the handshake row and that its team is not in the right mindset thanks to the abuse they've endured from home fans.
There was high drama in the lead-up to Pakistan’s third and final fixture of Asia Cup 2025 against UAE in Dubai on Wednesday evening. The Salman Agha-led squad delayed its departure from the team hotel after being asked to stay back by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The decision was taken in wake of ICC rejecting PCB’s demand to remove match referee Andy Pycroft from the remainder of the tournament, alleging he sided with India in the handshake row.
Mohsin Naqvi, who is the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president and PCB chairman, held discussions with former board heads Razim Raja, Najam Sethi among others at the board’s headquarters in Lahore after ICC rejected their demand clearing Pycroft of any wrongdoing.
Better sense prevailed as PCB backtracked on its boycott threat before instructing the team to leave for the venue with the contest delayed by an hour.
However, News18 has learned that PCB had a weak case against Pycroft, and the Pakistan cricket team is upset thanks to the abuse back home in the wake of their sorry show against India in a Group A match.
Handshake Row Explained
In response, Pakistan captain Salman Agha remained absent from the post-match presentation, but their head coach Mike Hesson attended the press conference that followed.
Later, PCB lodged a complaint with the ICC claiming that Pycroft had asked Agha not to shake hands with Suryakumar at the toss time. Besides alleging that India’s conduct was unsportsmanlike, the Pakistan cricket board also claimed the match referee’s actions were in violation of the MCC Laws.
PCB demanded that Pycroft be removed from all their remaining matches of the Asia Cup 2025. While not making any public announcement, PCB were considering withdrawing from the continental tournament if their demand isn’t met.
How Withdrawing From Asia Cup Would’ve Impacted Pakistan?
Pakistan were in a lose-lose situation had they made good on their pullout threat. Taking such an unprecedented action would’ve meant Pakistan has forfeited their final group match against UAE. In that scenario, UAE along with group table-toppers India, would’ve advanced to the next round with Pakistan eliminated.
Additionally, withdrawing from such a high-profile tourney would have resulted in a revenue loss of anything from USD 12 to 16 million for the PCB. The five Test playing countries including India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh reportedly earn 15 per cent each of the ACC revenue, which is derived from broadcast deals, sponsorships, tickets among others.
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