Sunil Gavaskar, former Indian Captain, fiercely criticized the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for its provocative actions during the Asia Cup 2025. The argument started when India’s captain, Suryakumar Yadav, didn’t shake hands with the Pakistani players as is usual.
The PCB filed a formal complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and asked for the dismissal of match referee Andy Pycroft. The board said that Pycroft had not followed the spirit of cricket. The ICC, on the other hand, turned down the plea.
The PCB stuck to its guns and even said it might not play the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a must-win game, which pushed the game back an hour.
Gavaskar’s Criticism
Gavaskar asked why the PCB’s protest made sense in his Sportstar column:
that was hard to understand why the PCB was upset about that, since there is nothing in the rules that specifies handshakes are required. The ICC was right to disregard the protest, assuming there was one, as the news reports say.
He also said that Pakistan had missed the required news conference before the match, which should raise eyebrows:
“The Pakistani team needs to be looked at for not going to the necessary media meeting the night before the match. They didn’t have to send the coach, players, or captain. Anyone on the big support staff could have talked to the press. That didn’t happen, and it will be interesting to watch whether anything is done to avoid what is required.
About the Match Delay
Gavaskar was especially angry with the PCB for putting off their game against the UAE:
“The second thing that made me angry was that the game was delayed and started an hour late. If the PCB had any problems, they had two full days after losing to India and before the game against the UAE to deal with them. They kept the game hostage by keeping everyone in suspense and not showing up at the ground until virtually the throw time.
He further said that the PCB lied about the ICC’s position by saying that Pycroft had apologized:
“There’s just no reason to delay the start of the game by an hour to get an apology…” The PCB jumped on the phrase “regrettable miscommunication” to suggest that this was the apology.