PAK vs UAE Asia Cup: Andy Pycroft ruled out of all Pakistan matches, major action taken ahead of the match against UAE

A major change has been witnessed in the Asia Cup 2025. ICC Elite Panel Match Referee Andy Pycroft will no longer officiate in the crucial match between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today, September 17th.

According to news agency PTI, this decision came after pressure from the Pakistan Cricket Board. According to reports, match referee Andy Pycroft has been removed from all Pakistan matches. Richie Richardson is expected to replace him in the match against the UAE.

Andy Pycroft was removed from the PAK vs UAE match.

In fact, a no-handshake controversy arose after the India-Pakistan match. After winning the match by 7 wickets, the Indian players did not shake hands with the Pakistani players out of respect for the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

This angered the PCB, who alleged that this happened at Pycroft's behest. This is because during the toss, Match Referee Andy Pycroft told Pakistan captain Salman Agha not to shake hands with Indian captain Surya.

For this reason, the PCB also complained to the ICC about Match Referee Andy. They even demanded Andy's removal from the entire tournament, which the ICC rejected. However, as a compromise, he has now been removed from the match against the UAE.

This decision may also have been made because the PCB had even threatened to boycott the tournament if Andy was not removed.

Who will secure a Super Four berth, Pakistan or UAE?

Today is a do-or-die match for Pakistan and the UAE (PAK vs UAE Asia Cup Today's Match). Whichever team wins this match today will qualify for the Super Four of the Asia Cup 2025. If Pakistan defeats the UAE today, they will face the Indian team again on September 21st. It should be noted that today's match will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, where the Indian team defeated Pakistan by 7 wickets.

Pakistan has won one of its two matches so far and is placed second in the Group A points table. While the UAE team has also won one of its two matches, it is placed third due to a poor net run rate (-2.030).