Some interesting details have emerged about what happened inside the Pakistan Cricket Board corridors on September 17 ahead of the Pakistan vs UAE Asia Cup match, when the ‘Men in Green’ looked like pulling out of the event. The issue started when Indian players snubbed post-match handshakes with Pakistan players on September 14. The act angered PCB, who threatened the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft and even talked about a boycott. The drama peaked ahead of the Pakistan vs UAE match when the players were told by PCB not to leave the stadium as Pycroft was the match referee. There were talks about Pakistan’s pullout before the PCB relented and the match got off to a delayed start.
Now, former PCB chief Najam Sethi, who was part of the decision-making process, has made some interesting claims.
“The decision was already taken. The mood was such that, ‘under public pressure, let’s boycott. Let the Asia Cup go to hell, let the ICC go to hell.’ My attitude has always been that you should stay within legal boundaries and not leave the international arena. When I was called, my friends told me, ‘Don’t go, don’t support him.’ I hadn’t gone to support Mr. Mohsin Naqvi. I went to help the Pakistan Cricket Board,” said Sethi on Samaa TV.
“If what he was attempting had succeeded, Pakistan would have suffered irreparable damage. We could have been sanctioned by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), penalized by the International Cricket Council (ICC), foreign players might have refused to play in the PSL, and we stood to lose $15 million in ACC broadcasting rights. It would have been an existential crisis for PCB.”
pic.twitter.com/th2Oekkvzj
Najam Sethi said: Mahsin Naqvi had decided to withdraw from the Asia Cup. My friends told me, ‘Don’t go, don’t help them.’ I didn’t even go to help Mahsin Naqvi. If what Mahsin Naqvi was doing had happened, Pakistan would have suffered irreparable damage,…— Kashif (@KashifNdmCric) September 19, 2025
After much drama on Wednesday, Pakistan withdrew its pullout threat and showed up for a crucial Asia Cup game against the UAE on Wednesday, but not before causing a delay and claiming that it had received an “apology” from match referee Andy Pycroft, who was retained by the ICC despite the country’s repeated demand for his removal. That Pycroft would remain match referee was communicated to PCB chairman and Asian Cricket Council head Mohsin Naqvi by ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta in a conference call. The ICC maintained that the Zimbabwean would remain in charge as he had followed all the rules and regulations.
Pakistan had held Pycroft responsible for the embarrassment it faced after Salman and Suryakumar did not exchange a handshake or their team sheets during the toss on Sunday. The PCB alleged that Pycroft had prohibited Salman from shaking hands with Suryakumar and told the two captains not to exchange team sheets.