Ahead of the Pakistan v UAE Group A match of the Asia Cup 2025, match referee Andy Pycroft apologized to the Pakistan captain and manager for his conduct during their Asia Cup encounter against India, according to a statement released by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday.

There was no handshake between the two captains, Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Agha, after the toss, and PCB claimed that it was Andy Pycroft who instructed the Green Shirts captain not to shake hands with the Men in Blue skipper.

Furthermore, Indian players refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts after the game ended. Suryakumar Yadav also mentioned Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam terror and dedicated the win to the Indian armed forces.

As a result, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had earlier sent two emails to the International Cricket Council (ICC) demanding an apology from Pycroft and his removal from their match against the UAE. However, the ICC refused to do so both the times, and the Pakistan team threatened to boycott the UAE game.

And it looked like Pakistan would not play the game, as they didn’t arrive at the venue before the match. The match's start time was later revealed to have been postponed by an hour while PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi discussed his options with Ramiz Raja and Najam Sethi.

Pakistan's participation in the match versus the United Arab Emirates was eventually confirmed after Pycroft had apologized to the Pakistani captain and team manager. 

Here's the full statement issued by the PCB on Pycroft's subsequent apology: "The ICC's match referee, Andy Pycroft, has apologized to the manager and captain of the Pakistan cricket team. Andy Pycroft had barred the captains of India and Pakistan from shaking hands during their match.

The Pakistan Cricket Board had strongly reacted to Andy Pycroft's actions. Andy Pycroft termed the September 14 incident a result of miscommunication and apologized. The ICC has expressed its willingness to conduct an inquiry into the code of conduct violation that occurred during the September 14 match."

Now, as per the Cricbuzz report, in a message to the PCB, the ICC stated that the council had found no misconduct on the part of the match referee and that Pycroft had instead spared Pakistan's Salam Ali Agha and India's skipper Suryakumar Yadav from "embarrassment."

"The ICC communique noted that it had conducted its own inquiry and concluded that Pycroft had actually helped prevent an embarrassment for both captains by discreetly advising Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Ali Agha to avoid handshakes at the toss. It also stressed that Pycroft had not violated any match protocols,” the ICC statement read, as per Cricbuzz.

A source told PTI, "The apology has only been tendered for the miscommunication, and ICC will only conduct its investigation only when PCB furnishes further evidence as to what was Pycroft's fault."  

According to the report, the ICC made it plain that it would not bow to pressure from the PCB, cautioning that doing so might create a risky precedent going forward. As a result, Pycroft continued to officiate Wednesday's match between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.