Asia Cup: Pycroft informed of 'no handshake' four minutes before India-Pakistan toss

Andy Pycroft, the match referee for the India-Pakistan Asia Cup clash on September 14 who is in the eye of the storm due to a 'handshake row' between both sides, was informed about the decision only minutes before the toss , as per ESPNCricinfo.

The match referee believed himself to be a conveyor of the message rather than an instructor. A complaint was lodged against Pycroft by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), accusing him of violating the ICC's Code of Conduct and the spirit of cricket after skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube walked off the field without shaking hands with Pakistani players. PCB also demanded the removal of the referee from the remaining matches of the tournament.

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Details have now emerged of the events between two Pakistan fixtures, one against India on September 14 and against the UAE on September 17.

The controversy was sparked, as per an official with direct knowledge of the whole situation, "four minutes before the toss" in Sunday's game between Pakistan and India. As he walked out to the field, Pycroft was informed by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) venue manager that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had spoken to them, with approval from their central government, that no handshake would take place between Indian skipper Surya and his Pakistani counterpart, Salman Agha.

PCB officials argued that the match referee should have informed the ICC of this unusual request, but Pycroft is believed to have said he did not have any time to do so. With enough time, he would have made ICC aware. Moments before the toss, he told Agha of the situation in the belief that he was avoiding a potentially embarrassing moment if Agha went to shake hands with the Indian captain and got snubbed by him.

Pycroft's decision has not been seen by ICC as a breach of any code of conduct, but as an action he was authorised to take in his remit as a match official deputed to manage the game.

On Wednesday, ahead of their must-win clash against the UAE, PCB threatened to pull out of the tournament if Pycroft, who was supposed to officiate the UAE game as well, was not reassigned. The match went ahead after an hour's delay, following a hasty meeting between Pycroft and the leadership group of Pakistan cricket.

PCB claimed that Pycroft had "apologised to the manager and captain of the Pakistan cricket team", but sources familiar with the situation maintain it was an "expression of regret over the misunderstanding and miscommunication" around the incident, rather than an apology.

PCB had sent an official complaint to ICC's General Manager of Cricket Wasim Khan between Sunday night and Monday morning following the loss to India, spelling out the sequence of events before the toss and accusing Pycroft of misconduct. The complaint said that PCB was alarmed "to note that an ICC-appointed and supposedly neutral match referee opted to indulge in conduct which clearly violates the spirit of cricket and MCC laws".

PCB also said that the match referee, "failed to discharge his responsibility to ensure that respect was extended and maintained amongst the captains as well as between the two competing sides, and to create a positive atmosphere by his conduct and encourage the captains and participating teams to do likewise" and demanded that he be removed from the roster of Asia Cup officials immediately.

ICC, in their first response on September 15, told PCB that the complaint was "carefully investigated", but there was " no case to answer on the part of Mr Pycroft", and the match referee was at no fault. During their review of the entire situation, ICC spoke to Pycroft, the other match and tournament officials and Andrew Russell, the tournament director.