NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has come out strongly in defence of match referee Andy Pycroft while lashing out at Pakistan for “creating a needless spectacle” over the post-match handshake controversy that followed India’s group-stage win in the Asia Cup 2025.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Speaking on his YouTube show Ash Ki Baat, Ashwin accused Pakistan of unfairly targeting Pycroft after demanding his removal from the tournament. “Andy Pycroft actually saved everybody from seeing such a poor spectacle,” Ashwin said. “India informed the match referee in advance — this is our decision, and we will follow it. That’s it. After all this drama, you lost the match. So what are you complaining about? You didn’t lose because we didn’t shake hands. Please go and find out what you can actually improve.”The International Cricket Council (ICC) has appointed Andy Pycroft as the match referee for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 Super 4s clash between India and Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. This decision comes despite the Pakistan Cricket Board’s allegations regarding Pycroft’s conduct during the previous encounter on September 14. The ICC had rejected PCB’s demand to remove Pycroft, asserting that he did not breach the Code of Conduct in instructing Suryakumar Yadav and Agha Salman to avoid handshakes.
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Ashwin found the targeting of Pycroft baffling. “If no handshake was your problem with India, why were you looking for an answer to that problem in the UAE game? Why did you have to make Andy Pycroft the scapegoat? He has done nothing wrong.”Mocking suggestions that Pycroft should have forced the players to shake hands, Ashwin added, “He is not a schoolteacher. He’s not a principal. He can’t go and bring Surya and say, ‘Come shake hands’. That’s not his job. What exactly is Pycroft’s fault here?”
The off-spinner clarified that India’s players were following an organisational directive. “Whether it’s a corporate office, a government firm, or a cricket team — when there’s an organisational directive, you follow it. Our players were clear: they were here to represent India, and they followed protocol. That’s our side of the story. The matter should end there.”Ashwin was particularly scathing about Pakistan’s demand for an apology. “You filed a complaint against India, and when the dust settles, you’re saying Pycroft apologised? If I were Andy Pycroft, you are apologising to me. What would I even be apologising for? ‘I’m sorry that Suryakumar Yadav didn’t shake your hand’? Really?”With India set to face Pakistan again in the Super Four stage on Sunday, Ashwin’s words underline India’s determination to keep the focus on cricket — not on distractions beyond the rope.
