Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has blasted at Pakistan for unjustly pointing fingers at match referee Andy Pycroft over the handshake issue that broke out after the much-debate clash between the two nations at Asia Cup 2025 last Sunday. Ashwin stated Pakistan were making unnecessary drama out of a simple cricketing ruling.
“Andy Pycroft actually saved everybody from seeing such a poor spectacle,” Ashwin said on his YouTube show ‘Ash Ki Baat’. “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.”
India decided to snub the post-match handshakes, a move influenced by recent geopolitical tensions after the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
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Ashwin also made remarks in response to Pakistan's formal complaint to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and the ICC, requesting that Pycroft be removed from the tournament. When Pakistan recorded a private conversation with Pycroft in the Players and Match Officials Area (PMOA), which is currently under investigation by the ICC, and leaked the video online, the situation became even more heated.
Ashwin was perplexed by Pycroft's targeting. “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,” he said.
Ashwin went on to mock the idea that Pycroft ought to have faced disciplinary action, adding, “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?”
According to the Indian off-spinner, the players were merely carrying out an order from the BCCI, which he compared to following organisational guidelines in any kind of professional situation.
“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. The cricketers also communicated their stance — they said, ‘We don’t want to shake hands.’ That’s our side of the story. The matter should end there.”
Ashwin was especially critical of Pakistan's demand that Pycroft issue an apology, flipping the story completely. “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? That’s the apology you expect?”
Ashwin's comments further demonstrate the Indian camp's adamant position that cricket should remain the main emphasis, rather than the sideshows taking on outside the boundary rope, as India prepares to play Pakistan again in the Super Four stage on Sunday.
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