The ICC match referee is believed to have said to Pakistan that he was merely the messenger of India's decision not to shake hands on Sunday

ICC agreed with PCB that in order to help resolve the matter related to the India game, Pycroft would meet the team captain and manager before the toss of yesterday’s match

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had temporarily stopped the squad from departing, sparking reports that the team might withdraw from the Asia Cup. The board cited inaction and perceived bias by International Cricket Council (ICC) officials following Sunday’s match,

The ICC issued a six-point statement dismissing the PCB’s allegations as “baseless”. It reiterated that Pycroft had committed no offence, and rejected Pakistan’s request to remove him from its panel of referees.

The PCB alleged that Pycroft, at the time of toss on Sunday, prohibited Salman from shaking hands with his Indian counterpart Suryakumar Yadav

Former Pakistan international and PCB chairman, Ramiz Raja, made explosive allegations against ICC match referee Andy Pycroft. He labelled the ICC official as India’s ‘permanent fixer’ and suggested the deliberate assignment of the man to India matches.

In a dramatic turn of events in November 2001, India, supported by South Africa, ousted ICC match referee Mike Denness, leading to the Centurion Test being deemed unofficial. This action stemmed from Denness's sanctions against six Indian players,