The International Cricket Council (ICC) can reject the plea made by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to remove Andy Pycroft from the panel of match referees for the Asia Cup amid the No Handshake controversy sparked after the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 match. 

According to a report published by Cricbuzz, ICC is all set to dismiss PCB's request, as the match refresh had barely any role behind Team India's act against Pakistan. PCB alleged that India's decision to snub the ceremonial handshake was a breach of the code of contact in the presence of the match referee. 

It is now believed that Pycroft, who was the match official for the game on September 17, could do very little to prevent the situation from any controversy. The report explained, "The dominant view within the ICC is that Pycroft had only a minimal role in the handshake episode, and that all he may have done was convey a message to the Pakistan captain to avoid the public embarrassment of one captain refusing to shake hands with the other at the toss." 

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PCB expressed their displeasure regarding the whole episode; they alleged India breached the code of conduct. The question arises, did Team India really break any rule by not shaking hands with the opponent team? It is now believed that under MCC's guidelines, a handshake after or before a match between players of two teams is perhaps not mandatory. Thus, PCB has very little ground to cement their allegations over India. 

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), said in a social media post on Monday, "The PCB has lodged a complaint with the ICC regarding violations by the match referee of the ICC Code of Conduct and the MCC Laws pertaining to the Spirit of Cricket. The PCB has demanded an immediate removal of the match referee from the Asia Cup."

Proving the report accurate, lastest report suggested that ICC has officially rejected PCB's demand to replace match referee Andy Pycroft at the ongoing AsiaCup2025.