New Delhi: The Asia Cup 2025 took a dramatic turn on Wednesday when Pakistan nearly withdrew from the tournament. Rumours of a boycott emerged when the team delayed leaving the hotel for their match against the UAE. Following India vs Pakistan match on September 14 tensions had been building when Indian players led by Suryakumar Yadav declined to shake hands with the Pakistan squad a move that left them embarrassed. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) accused match referee Andy Pycroft of bias and even filed a complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) demanding his removal from the tournament. ICC rejected the PCBs accusations as baseless The ICC rejected the PCBs accusations as baseless in a six-point rebuttal. Moreover Andy Pycroft went on to serve as the match referee in Pakistan’s Asia Cup 2025 fixture against the UAE. PCB chief and Asian Cricket Council head Mohsin Naqvi breaks silence on why the team ultimately chose not to withdraw. As you all know there has been a crisis going on since September 14. We had objections about the role of the match referee. Just a short while ago the match referee had a conversation with the team coach captain and manager. He said that the incident (no handshakes) should not have happened. We had also requested the ICC earlier to set up an inquiry into the code violation during the match Naqvi told reporters on Wednesday. Mohsin Naqvi says politics and sports cant go together We believe that politics and sports cant go together. This is sport and let it remain a sport. Cricket should be separate from all this. I requested Sethi Saab and Rameez Raja Saab. If we had to go for a boycott which was a very big decision the prime minister government officials and many other people were also involved and we got their full support. We were monitoring the issue. The ICC in its letter to the PCB said: The ICCs investigation was conducted on the basis of the information provided in the report lodged by the PCB. We took the report at face value and note that no supporting documentation or evidence was provided with it. The PCB had every opportunity to submit statements from its team members alongside the initial report but chose not to do so. The global governing body said that the match referee had no case to answer. The actions that the match referee took following clear directions from the ACC (Asian Cricket Council) Venue Manager were consistent with how a match referee would deal with such an issue communicated as it was with no time for him to do anything else (minutes before the toss). ICC made it clear that the Match Referee was not at fault The ICC made it clear that Pycroft’s was preserving the sanctity of the toss and avoiding any potential embarrassment that might have arisen. The Match Referee was not at fault in any of this. It is not the role of the Match Referee to regulate team or tournament-specific protocols which have been agreed upon outside of the area of play; that is a matter for the tournament organizers and relevant team managers the ICC added. The conclusion was blunt with the ICC officials questioning weather the PCBs real concern or complaint relates to the actual decision that handshakes didnt take place. The PCB should therefore direct those complaints to the tournament organizers and those who took the actual decision (which was not the Match Referee). The ICC doesnt have a role in that. Story Highlight The Asia Cup 2025 took a dramatic turn on Wednesday when Pakistan nearly withdrew from the tournament. Tensions had been building after Indian players led by Suryakumar Yadav declined to shake hands with the Pakistan squad a move that left them embarrassed. The ICC rejected the PCBs accusations as baseless in a six-point rebuttal while Andy Pycroft went on to serve as the match referee in Pakistan’s Asia Cup 2025 fixture against the UAE. The ICC also made it clear that the Match Referee was not at fault in any of this.