At the toss for the first India-West Indies Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday, Ravi Shastri took a playful dig at Pakistan, alluding to the Asia Cup’s no-handshake controversy while welcoming Andy Pycroft, the senior official and match referee.
After the no-handshake incident in the India-Pakistan group stage match, Pycroft, a Zimbabwean, became the centre of controversy during the Asia Cup 2025 when the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) accused him of failing to respect the spirit of the game.
Shastri couldn’t help but make a cheeky reference to those incidents while introducing Pycroft at the first Test toss.
“Back in the house, all the way from Dubai, in the hot seat. Andy Pycroft,” Shastri remarked, grinning and raising his voice. Pycroft smiled sheepishly, acknowledging the acerbic introduction, and a smile was also seen from India captain Shubman Gill.
The PCB officially complained to the ICC when Indian players refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts on September 14. They demanded that Pycroft be removed from the rest of the competition and threatened to boycott if their demand wasn’t fulfilled.
The request was denied by the ICC, which declared the reasoning to be without merit.
