Asia Cup 2025, India vs Pakistan, Handshake controversy: The whole world is watching Asia Cup 2025. What happened on 14 September in this tournament between 8 teams in UAE is still being discussed. Here we are talking about the no handshake controversy, which has created a ruckus. Due to this controversy, the journey of Pakistan cricket team in Asia Cup 2025 seems to be in trouble. Pakistan made a mountain out of a molehill of the handshake controversy and now the situation has become such that if Pakistan does not step back, then its journey in Asia Cup can stop here.

First of all, you should know what is the no handshake controversy? So it started on 14 September, when a match was played between India and Pakistan on the Dubai ground. During the toss, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav did not shake hands with Pakistani captain Salman Ali Agha. Then after the match, the Indian players refused to shake hands. This is where the ruckus started. There was rhetoric from both sides. Pakistani cricketers and former cricketers were irritated by this.

Demand to remove referee Andy Pycroft

The Pakistan Cricket Board was so upset by this that it complained and demanded the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft. PCB claimed that match referee Andy Pycroft had asked the two captains not to shake hands during the toss. PCB alleged that Pycroft violated the ICC Code of Conduct and MCC rules, especially in terms of sportsmanship.

Pakistan got trapped by giving threats (Asia Cup 2025, India vs Pakistan, Handshake controversy)

Pakistan even said that if referee Pycroft is not removed, then their team will not play the next match against UAE, which is to be played on 17 September. This is the last match of both the teams in Group A, which will give them a ticket to Super 4. Meaning whichever team wins will enter the Super 4. The threat of not playing this match sounds big, but now it has become a noose around the neck for Pakistan. Know below how…

Why is the UAE match important?

If Pakistan has to go to the Super 4 in Asia Cup 2025, then it will have to play a match against UAE. This is because on September 15, UAE defeated Oman by 42 runs. This victory has changed the entire equation. Now the match between Pakistan and UAE on September 17 has become a "knockout". This means that whichever team wins this match will go to the Super-4 with India. If Pakistan does not enter the field, it will be directly out of the tournament. In such a situation, it will be interesting to see whether Pakistan, which boycotted this match, plays this match contrary to its decision or not.

ICC rejected PCB's demand! (Asia Cup 2025, India vs Pakistan, Handshake controversy)

No official statement has come from ICC on Pakistani's complaint and threat, but Cricbuzz reported in one of its reports that ICC did not take Pakistan's demand seriously and flatly refused. Not only this, the same referee Andy Pycroft will be there in the match against UAE. This means that Pakistan has no option left now except to play.

Pakistan got caught in its own trap

The ruckus created by Pakistan over the handshake controversy is now proving to be costly for it. If it enters the field, it will have to back out of its threat and if it does not, it is certain to be out of the Asia Cup. In this way, it has got caught in its own trap over the handshake controversy.

Who did PCB suspend after the match? (Asia Cup 2025, India vs Pakistan, Handshake controversy)

When the Indian players did not shake hands with the Pakistani team after the match, the Pakistan Cricket Board got so angry that it took major action. PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has taken a big decision and suspended his own director Usman Wahala with immediate effect. It was told that this action was an alleged lapse in handling the controversial incident of not shaking hands after the match, which put the Pakistani team in a weak position in terms of sportsmanship. Usman Wahala has been posted on this important post for the last two years and is also the chairman of the Pakistan Super League. He was accused of failing to resolve this sensitive issue on time.