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‘Andy Pycroft not a schoolteacher to force Suryakumar Yadav, Pakistan should say sorry to him’: Ashwin blasts PCB
Ravichandran Ashwin criticised Pakistan for blaming match referee Andy Pycroft over the handshake controversy after India’s Asia Cup win.
Senior Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has hit out at Pakistan for unfairly blaming match referee Andy Pycroft over the post-match handshake controversy that erupted following India’s group-stage win in the Asia Cup 2025. Ashwin strongly criticised the Pakistan camp for demanding Pycroft’s removal from the tournament and accused them of creating a needless spectacle after a straightforward cricketing decision.
“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.”
Ashwin’s comments come in the wake of Pakistan’s official complaint to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and the ICC, asking for Pycroft to be replaced after India’s players opted not to engage in post-match handshakes — a decision reportedly influenced by recent geopolitical tensions following the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
Pakistan further escalated the issue by recording a closed-door meeting with Pycroft — held in the restricted Players and Match Officials Area (PMOA) — and leaking the footage online, a move now being investigated by the ICC.
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,” he said.
Mocking the notion that Pycroft should have taken disciplinary action, 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 Indian off-spinner pointed out that the players were simply following a directive from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), a position he likened to obeying organisational instructions in any professional setting.
“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 particularly scathing about Pakistan’s demand for an apology from Pycroft, flipping the narrative entirely.
“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?”
He concluded by suggesting that it is Pakistan, not Pycroft, who owes an apology.
With India set to face Pakistan again in the Super Four stage on Sunday, Ashwin’s remarks further reflect the Indian camp’s firm stance on keeping the focus on cricket — and not on the sideshows unfolding beyond the boundary rope.
