'Andy Pycroft School Principal Ya...': Ravichandran Ashwin Lambasts Pakistan & PCB Over 'Handshake' Row Ahead Of IND vs PAK Asia Cup 2025 Super 4 Clash; Video

Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took a fresh dig at Pakistan over blaming match referee Andy Pycroft for the handshake row against Team India in the Group stage match of Asia Cup 2025. Ashwin blasted Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) by stating that Pycroft is not a school teacher or principal, who can force Suryakumar Yadav to shake hands.

A massive row erupted after the Group stage match between the two arch-rivals. After Suryakumar Yadav hit the winning six, he walked off with Shivam Dube without shaking hands with the Pakistani counterparts. It didn't go well with the Men in Green as captain Salman Ali Agha skipped the post-game presentation duties. Later, PCB released a statement claiming that Pycroft told the captains not to shake hands and called for his ban. However, the ICC rejected their request and is set to officiate the Super 4 match too between the two sides on Sunday.

Speaking on the saga, the 39-year-old said on his YouTube channel:

"Cricketers ne kya kaha, yeh hamaara faisla hai ki we don't want to shake hands. This is our side of the story, our truth. Baat idhar hee khatam hai. Now you are saying Andy Pycroft ko spirit of cricket ko uphold karna hai. Andy Pycroft School principal ya teacher thodi hai. Jaake kaan pakadke thodi Surya ko laa sakte hain. 'Surya aajao haath mila lo. Nahin kar sakte na aisa."

(Cricketers said this is our decision and we don't want to shake hands. This is our side of the story, our truth. The story ends here. Now you are saying Andy Pycroft must uphold the spirit of cricket. Andy Pycroft is not a school principal or a teacher, who will pull Surya's ears to shake hands with Pakistan players. Can't do that.)

"If you want to do well in this tournament and going forward, we will have to shut out a lot of noise from outside" - Suryakumar Yadav

Ahead of the Super 4 match on Sunday, Suryakumar addressed the hype around the clash by saying that he prefers to stay off social media under such circumstances. He said, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:

"Close your room, switch off your phone and sleep. Everyone in the room laughed too, and then he continued. Of course, it's not always possible. You meet a lot of friends, you go out to dinner. You have other players also around who like to see all these things. So it's very difficult, but then it's on you. What you want to listen to, what you want to have in your mind. But I have been very clear with all the boys. I think it's very important. If you want to do well in this tournament and going forward, we will have to shut out a lot of noise from outside."

India had beaten Oman by 21 runs in their previous game.