IND vs PAK controversy: Has match referee Andy Pycroft really bashed Pakistan players for bringing disrepute to cricket? – Mint

Andy Pycroft made headlines after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) demanded his immediate removal from the Asia Cup 2025. Pycroft was the match referee of the India vs Pakistan match on September 14.
The PCB alleged that Pycroft did not take any action against India after Suryakumar Yadav and his boys had refused to shake hands with Pakistani players. Now, a tweet by a Twitter (now X) user called Andy Pycroft has gone viral.
“I stand by every decision that I took yesterday. Pakistan players have had a history of bringing disrepute to the game of cricket, be it Hafeez and Ajmal in past (reported for chucking by me) or the current bunch of players like Faheem and Abrar. So I had to take precautions,” says the tweet.
The tweet has attached a news update about the PCB warning the ICC that Pakistan would no longer participate in the Asia Cup 2025 if Andy Pycroft was not removed.
The tweet has gone viral with nearly 2 million views. The post was shared on September 15 at 5 PM soon after the PCB appeal had made news.
Many social media users reacted to the post.
“I second Mr Andy Pycroft. Way to go,” posted one of them.
“Pakistan talking about the spirit of cricket whilst sponsoring terrorism is the most hypocritical thing ever,” commented another.
Another user wrote, “The history of Pakistan cricket is dotted with controversies, whether it was Hafeez and Ajmal before (reported for chucking by me) or the present crop of players like Faheem and Abrar.”
“Well done, Andy. India is with you,” came from another.
“Now that they’ll be eliminated, they want to withdraw?” wondered another.
Contrary to what most Twitter users are assuming, the social media account does not seem to belong to the match referee.
The user earlier commented on a post by Abhijit Iyer-Mitra.
“The truck driver (innocent) will be jailed. There will be ZERO repeat ZERO criminal charges against Mangalore corporation responsible for maintaining the road. The biggest killers in India – by omission – are bureaucrats,” Iyer-Mitra wrote.
The user, who claims to be Andy Pycroft, replied in Hindi, “2014 se pahle govt led by PM was responsible for all issues, aaj kal bas “bureaucrats” ki galti hai (Before 2014, the government led by the Prime Minister was held responsible for all issues. Nowadays, it’s just the ‘bureaucrats’ who are blamed).”
Meanwhile, the user has 1,536 Followers on Twitter. While the account mostly posts on cricket, the user’s previous posts include takes on spiritual guru Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and YouTuber Raj shamani.
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