PCB had threatened to boycott UAE game if Andy Pycroft didn't apologise and replaced.
PCB had been rejected twice by ICC when they had written to them demanding the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft, whom they accused of stopping Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha from shaking hands with India captain Suryakumar Yadav at the toss in their match on Sunday, September 14.
PCB even threatened to boycott the match against the UAE if Pycroft wasn’t removed as match referee from their matches. However, a few hours later, PCB shared a video on social media of Andy Pycroft having a talk with Pakistan captain Salman Agha and other Pakistan officials.
It should be noted that the video supplied by PCB of the meeting between Andy Pycroft and several Pakistani officials, including captain Salman Agha, had the audio muted.
According to the Pakistan Cricket Board, Zimbabwe's Pycroft issued an "apology for miscommunication" during the India-Pakistan match last Sunday, during which Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav refused to shake hands with his counterpart Salman Ali Agha as a show of solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
“ICC's controversial match referee Andy Pycroft has apologized to the manager and captain of the Pakistani cricket team. Andy Pycroft had prohibited the captains of both teams from shaking hands during the India-Pakistan match. The Pakistan Cricket Board had strongly reacted to Andy Pycroft's action. Andy Pycroft termed the incident on September 14 as a result of miscommunication and apologized. The ICC has expressed its readiness to investigate the violation of the Code of Conduct during the match on September 14,” PCB posted on social media.
However, it has come to light that Andy Pycroft hadn’t actually “apologized” to Pakistan as PCB has claimed. Pycroft, Salman Ali Agha, team manager Naveed Akram Cheema, and coach Mike Hesson met in the match referee's room at the Dubai International Stadium at the request of the Zimbabwean official to clear up any potential miscommunication.
"There was no question of any apology. Especially from someone who did no wrong," said a well-placed source to the Times of India.
The ICC has maintained that Pycroft has strictly adhered to the code of conduct and has told the PCB that officials cannot be removed based on team demands because this would set a precedent.