Asia Cup: Pakistan's WhatsApp Message To Local Reporters Over Handshake Row Revealed

Amid suspense over Pakistan's participation in the remainder of the Asia Cup 2025 tournament, there is no absolute clarity over whether Salman Agha's team will feature in the match against UAE on Wednesday. Pakistan cancelled their pre-match press conference on Tuesday, suggesting that clarity has been sought by the government as the no-handshake saga from the India match still remains unresolved. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), in a letter to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) sought the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft over what transpired during the India match.

But, with the ICC deciding to reject the request initially, the PCB threatened to boycott the UAE match and pull out of the tournament if the 'remove Pycroft' demand isn't met. The UAE team did send its coach, Lalchand Rajput, to the press conference on Tuesday, but no official or player was sent by the Pakistan team.

Deep into Tuesday night, a Pakistan cricket team spokesperson reportedly dropped WhatsApp messages to the country's journalists, making the plan for the UAE game and the remainder of the Asia Cup clear.

"Consultations are underway in this regard and a final decision will be taken by tomorrow (Wednesday)," the message read, as per DAWN. "The decision will be taken keeping in mind the interests of Pakistan."

A report by PTI late into the night claimed that a middle path has been reached between the ICC and the PCB over the no-handshake row, with the global cricketing body deciding to remove Pycroft from the match between the UAE and Pakistan.

In a bid not to let the saga stretch any longer, ICC has reportedly decided to send Richie Richardson as the match referee for the Pakistan vs UAE game, in place of Pycroft, who had officiated in the Indo-Pak match on Sunday. In fact, the report has claimed that Pycroft will not be officiating in Pakistan's matches in the Asia Cup anymore.

What Was PCB's Demand?

In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), the Pakistan Cricket Board chief, Mohsin Naqvi, who also heads the Asian Cricket Council, accused Pycroft of ICC Code of Conduct breach with his actions in the match against India.

"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," Naqvi said in a tweet on Monday. "The PCB has demanded an immediate removal of the Match Referee from the Asia Cup."

While the ICC had initially rejected the request to remove Pycroft, it does look like the Zimbabwean is being made the scapegoat of the no-handshake saga, in a dramatic U-turn. 

Topics mentioned in this article

Pakistan Cricket Team United Arab Emirates India Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Board Asia Cup 2025 Cricket