DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has taken strong exception to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recording a meeting between match referee Andy Pycroft and Pakistan team officials ahead of their Asia Cup fixture against the UAE in Dubai on September 17, with the controversy stemming from the so-called “handshake-gate” incident involving India captain Suryakumar Yadav, the Press Trust of India news agency reported on Friday.

According to the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency, ICC chief executive Sanjog Gupta wrote a strongly-worded email to the PCB on Thursday, terming the use of a mobile phone to film the conversation inside the Players and Match Officials Area (PMOA) a breach of protocol. The meeting was attended by Pycroft, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha, head coach Mike Hesson, team manager Naveed Akram Cheema, media manager Naeem Gillani, and ICC general manager cricket Wasim Khan.

Gillani was initially told by ICC officials that mobile phones were not permitted inside the PMOA under anti-corruption regulations. However, the PCB insisted the meeting be recorded, even threatening that Pakistan would not take the field against the UAE unless their demand was met. A compromise was reached under which the session was filmed without audio.

In his email, Gupta described the episode as “misconduct” and said the PCB had committed “multiple violations” of the PMOA code. He also objected to a PCB press release which had claimed Pycroft had “apologised” to the Pakistan captain and manager. Gupta clarified that the referee had only expressed “regret over the miscommunication” that led to Suryakumar not shaking hands with Salman before the India-Pakistan clash.

The controversy delayed the start of Pakistan’s game against the UAE by nearly an hour, with the PCB initially instructing its players to remain at the hotel after learning Pycroft would officiate. The standoff was broken after the ICC agreed to the pre-match meeting between the referee and Pakistan team management.

The PCB had earlier demanded Pycroft’s removal from the tournament, accusing him of violating the code of conduct and the MCC’s spirit of cricket by instructing Salman not to shake hands with Suryakumar. The ICC, however, said Pycroft was only relaying a message from the Asian Cricket Council’s venue manager and that an internal inquiry had cleared him of any wrongdoing.

Later on Friday, however, the PCB defended its decision to record the Dubai meeting, maintaining that its media manager had authorised access to the PMOA and acted within ICC protocols. “The team’s media manager is part of the squad and has authorised access to the PMOA. His presence there is not a violation,” the PTI quoted “a tournament source” as saying. The board further argued that protocols allow media managers to use cameras inside the PMOA.

However, PTI said the matter was flagged by the ICC referee to Pakistan’s anti-corruption officer, who acknowledged the breach. Gupta, in his email, was categorical: “The ICC, in order to preserve the interest of the sport, the tournament and the stakeholders involved accepted PCB’s request although this demonstrated a complete disregard for the sanctity of the PMOA.”

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2025