India has completely refuted Pakistan's claim that match referee Andy Pycroft had instructed India and Pakistan captains, Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Agha, not to shake hands at the toss when India and Pakistan clashed in the Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday, September 14, in Dubai.

The toss went without any issues, apart from the fact that Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Agha didn’t shake hands after Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat. Pakistan was restricted to 127/9 in 20 overs, with India chasing down the target in 15.5 overs, winning the game by seven wickets.

According to the Pakistan Cricket Board, Pycroft told both captains after the toss that handshakes would not be made, per the BCCI's recommendation. PCB also demanded that ICC remove the match referee in question and threatened to boycott the remainder of the tournament.

“The PCB has complained to the ICC regarding violations by the match referee of the ICC Code of Conduct and the MCC Laws about the Spirit of Cricket. The PCB has demanded an immediate removal of the match referee from the Asia Cup," ACC and PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi posted on X on Monday.

PCB was referring to Article 2.1.1 in the manual for match officials, which says that sanctions might be imposed in case their actions go against the spirit of the game.

An Indian Express report has stated that the Indian board has refuted PCB’s claims on match referee Andy Pycroft’s involvement and stated that the Indian camp had already decided not to shake hands with Pakistan players in light of the recent Pahalgam terror attack.

"I feel a few things, a few things in life, are ahead of sportsmen's spirit also," Suryakumar said while speaking at the post-match press conference. This came after the Indian team refused to shake hands with Pakistan after the match as well.

On the other hand, Pakistan coach Mike Hesson stated that they were disappointed at the Indian team not shaking their players’ hands despite their willingness to do so.

“We were ready to shake hands at the end of the game. We are disappointed that our opposition didn’t do that. We went over there to shake hands, but they had already gone into the changing room," Pakistan coach Mike Hesson said in a post-match press conference.

Pakistan will next face the UAE on Wednesday, while India faces Oman on Friday in the Asia Cup 2025.