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The International Cricket Council (ICC) has reprimanded the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for "multiple breaches of tournament regulations" ahead of their final Asia Cup 2025 Group A clash against the UAE at Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday.
The conflict arose after PCB protested against match referee Andy Pycroft, holding him responsible for the handshake controversy during last Sunday’s India–Pakistan match in Dubai. The board demanded Pycroft’s removal from the tournament and even threatened to withdraw from the competition. After the ICC rejected the request, PCB sent another letter on the eve of the UAE game.
On match day, Pakistan players were initially instructed not to leave their hotel, causing a one-hour delay to the scheduled start. A high-level meeting involving PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, along with former chiefs Najam Sethi and Ramiz Raja, eventually cleared the players to take the field.
Before the match, PCB claimed on social media that Pycroft had apologised to the Pakistan camp. A video later surfaced online showing Pycroft in conversation with captain Salman Ali Agha, manager Naved Akram Cheema, and head coach Mike Hesson. However, the audio was muted.
According to reports, the ICC sent an email to PCB just before the match, citing “misconduct” and repeated breaches of the Players and Match Officials Area (PMOA) protocol. Despite warnings, PCB allowed media manager Naeem Gillani to film the meeting — an action prohibited under ICC rules, which also bar media managers from attending such discussions.
In a bid to break the deadlock, ICC agreed to PCB’s last-minute demand for a meeting between Pycroft, the team captain, and the manager before the toss. However, tensions rose when Gillani was denied entry for attempting to carry a mobile phone into the PMOA. PCB then insisted on recording the session, a further violation of regulations.
While the ICC permitted the meeting in the “interest of the tournament and stakeholders,” the board later expressed concern that the PCB had disregarded the sanctity of PMOA protocols. The video clip shared on social media fuelled speculation, but ICC clarified that Pycroft had only expressed regret over a miscommunication — directly contradicting PCB’s public claim of an apology.
