Asia Cup: Match referee appointed for India vs Pakistan Super 4s match after handshake controversy

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has appointed Andy Pycroft as the match referee for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 Super 4s match between India and Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. This appointment comes despite recent controversies involving the Pakistan Cricket Board's allegations about Pycroft's conduct during the previous match on September 14.

The ICC had rejected PCB's demand of removing Pycroft as the match referee for the Asia Cup for allegedly going against the Code of Conduct in instructing Suryakumar Yadav and Agha Salman to avoid handshakes during the previous encounter.




The PCB's response to the situation resulted in a threat to withdraw from the tournament, where they delayed their match against the UAE by an hour. After successful negotiations between ICC, PCB and the Asian Cricket Council, Pakistan relented and played the match vs UAE and booked their place in the Super 4s with a win.

The India vs Pakistan match will take place at the same venue where the previous controversy unfolded, which had led to Pakistani captain Agha Salman's absence from the post-match presentation.

India enter the contest with an undefeated record in the tournament. The Suryakumar Yadav-led team secured their latest victory against Oman with a 21-run margin in Abu Dhabi. They were the only team from Group A to maintain a perfect record, having previously defeated both the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.

Pakistan's journey to the Super 4s included victories over the United Arab Emirates and Oman, but they suffered a significant defeat against India. The team under Agha Salman's leadership will be looking to improve their T20I record against India in this upcoming encounter.