The impact from the handshake dispute and the Pakistan Cricket Board's growing conflicts with the ICC have cast a shadow over the current Asia Cup 2025.

Anil Chaudhary, a former international umpire, has now commented, calling the controversy "unnecessary" and accusing Pakistan of exploiting it to deflect attention from their loss against India.

“I think that after losing the match, it was a part of turning things around. Otherwise, in any law book, in any of the ICC's playing conditions, there is nothing in writing. The handshake controversy you are referring to started about 15-20 years ago. The captain used to shake hands before. So, I think all that is unnecessarily created, and there is no need for it,” Chaudhary told ANI.

When India defeated Pakistan by seven wickets in Dubai on Sunday and the Indian players declined to shake hands after the game, the controversy broke out. Salman Agha, the captain of Pakistan, and Suryakumar Yadav, the captain of India, had previously declined to shake hands during the toss.

In a dramatic response, Pakistan boycotted the award ceremony and subsequently complained against ICC match referee Andy Pycroft, claiming that he had broken the spirit of cricket. However, the ICC declined to take any action on the complaint.

Anil Chaudhary also talked about PCB’s move and shared his views on match referee Andy Pycroft being dragged into the controversy.

“I think the people who complained also knew that there was no point in doing this in the field. By doing this, they will know that nothing is going to happen. All these are unnecessary things. He is a seasoned and old referee from the ICC elite panel. He is a very well-known player from Zimbabwe, and his track record is so good,” Chaudhary stated.

Despite threats to boycott the game, Pakistan defeated UAE and advanced to the Super Four stage. They will now face India in Dubai on September 21, Sunday.

(ANI inputs)