Pakistan officially BOYCOTT Asia Cup 2025!! ICC to hammer PCB with heavy sanctions?

In an absolutely shocking development, the Pakistan National Cricket Team have decided to boycott the Asia Cup 2025 match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) National Cricket Team.

Pakistan were scheduled to take on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the 10th match of the Asia Cup 2025 at the Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday, September 17.

Pakistan pull out of virtual knockout against UAE

The match between Pakistan and the UAE was supposed to be a virtual knockout, as the winning team would have progressed further to the Super Four stage. India National Cricket Team have already qualified for the Super Fours, and Oman have already been eliminated from the competition.

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Meanwhile, the Pakistan players have been told to stay back at the hotel and not board the team bus, as per several reports. The team management has informed the players that they will not be playing the match against the UAE.

This decision has been made by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), likely due to the ICC's refusal to remove Andy Pycroft as the match referee for their matches.

"The team has been asked not to travel to the stadium now. The bags and kits have all been loaded on the team bus, but the team has been asked to stay put. The deadlock persists between the PCB and the ICC," a source to Hindustan Times.

Also Read: ICC takes action after Pakistan send second letter over Andy Pycroft row, big verdict incoming

PCB recently sent a second letter to ICC

Since the No-handshake row in the Asia Cup 2025 match between India and Pakistan, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been panicking.

After India humiliated Pakistan in front of the whole world by refusing to shake hands with the players, the PCB turned chaotic, with Mohsin Naqvi trying his best to save his nation's face.

The PCB blamed match referee Andy Pycroft for the no-handshake row and claimed that he discouraged handshakes and did not allow the traditional exchange of team sheets between the captains.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sent a letter to ICC in which they complained about Andy Pycroft, and after the Jay Shah-led body didn't pay heed to it, they sent another letter on late Tuesday night.

ICC rejected PCB's demands

Reportedly, the Pakistan Cricket Board urged ICC to remove match referee Andy Pycroft from the Asia Cup 2025, but the governing council shot down the request.

They even made a request to replace Andy Pycroft with Richie Richardson for the team's remaining games, including the must-win clash against the UAE, but their request was again denied.

Despite the rejections, PCB remained firm in its stance that Andy Pycroft acted in a manner that compromised the spirit of the game during the India vs Pakistan clash and was disappointed with the reply from ICC, which was viewed as a "customary and dismissive".

“We have sent another letter to the ICC. We are not pleased with the response. All the aspects were not reviewed related to Andy Pycroft. The ICC’s response comes as a mere formality. Our stand is firm. Andy Pycroft cannot be the match referee," a PCB insider told Hindustan Times.