India, Pakistan keen to avoid controversy ahead of crucial Asia Cup match

India and Pakistan are keen to debar contention up of their important Super Fours fixture astatine the Asia Cup 2025, arsenic the governmental fallout of their erstwhile lucifer continues to overshadow the cricket tourney successful Dubai.

Pakistan cancelled their pre-match quality league 1 hr earlier its scheduled clip connected Saturday, portion India’s skipper Suryakumar Yadav evaded questions connected the “no handshake” row erstwhile helium spoke to the media aft his team’s triumph implicit Oman connected Friday.

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Sunday’s lucifer betwixt the South Asian archrivals volition beryllium their 2nd gathering successful 8 days, with the victor taking a measurement person to the tournament’s last connected September 28.

While the governmental statements and off-field actions pursuing the September 14 clash proceed to interaction preparations for the upcoming Super Fours match, some camps person taken steps to debar further repercussions and support the players from controversy.

When Yadav was asked to remark connected the handshake enactment aft his team’s past group-stage fixture connected Friday evening, helium responded by saying: “It [the match] volition beryllium a bully contention betwixt the shot and the bat.”

He went connected to adhd that he’s asked his players to “shut the noise” up of the lucifer against Pakistan.

“Close your room, power disconnected your telephone and sleep,” the India skipper said.

“It’s casual to say, but sometimes it is difficult.”

Having made pointedly governmental statements aft his team’s win implicit Pakistan connected Sunday, the 35-year-old chose to steer wide of akin comments a time earlier their 2nd match.

“We basal with each the victims of the Pahalgam panic onslaught and with their families, and dedicate this triumph to our brave equipped forces who took portion successful Operation Sindoor,” the 35-year-old said erstwhile asked if his team’s determination to not shingle hands with Pakistani players was against the tone of cricket.

Yadav was referring to the Indian equipped forces’ multiple rocket attacks connected six locations wrong Pakistan.

India said the missiles were successful effect to the April 22 onslaught connected tourists successful Indian-administered Kashmir successful Pahalgam, successful which 26 men were killed. An equipped radical called The Resistance Front (TRF), which demands independency for Kashmir, claimed work for the attack, but India had alleged Pakistani involvement.

Pakistan denied immoderate relation successful the attacks and asked for an autarkic probe to beryllium carried out.

Two days later, Pakistan responded to the rocket strikes by attacking subject installations crossed its frontier with India and Indian-administered Kashmir, striking astatine slightest 4 facilities.

The struggle ended 4 days later, acknowledgment to an internationally-brokered ceasefire.

While the speech of aerial occurrence came to a halt, the diplomatic ties betwixt the neighbours remained suspended, and the governmental hostility spilled implicit into cricket arsenic India’s players walked disconnected the tract without shaking hands with their opposition.

A fewer moments later, Pakistan’s players trudged disconnected successful a radical and waited for the Indian squad and enactment unit to travel retired and shingle hands, arsenic is the norm astatine the extremity of cricket matches.

However, the Indian contingent lone shook hands with each different earlier walking into their dressing country and shutting the doorway arsenic the waiting Pakistan players looked on.

Shortly aft the events unfolded, Pakistan’s manager Naveed Akram Cheema lodged a protestation against the Indian cricket team’s actions with Andy Pycroft, who is an International Cricket Council (ICC) accredited lucifer referee.

Pakistan alleged that Pycroft did not intelligibly pass the Indian team’s determination to not partake successful the handshake, an enactment they termed successful contravention of the tone of cricket.

Pakistan demanded Pycroft’s removal arsenic lucifer referee for their remaining fixtures successful the tournament, but aboriginal reached an statement with the ICC and Pycroft went connected to officiate Pakistan’s past radical crippled against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) connected Wednesday.

The Pakistan-UAE lucifer was delayed by an hr arsenic officials from the ICC and Pakistan’s squad absorption held a gathering astatine the Dubai International Cricket Stadium earlier the match.

“The ICC’s lucifer referee, Andy Pycroft, has apologised to the manager and skipper of the Pakistan cricket team,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said successful a statement.

“Andy Pycroft termed the September 14 incidental a effect of miscommunication.”

The PCB besides said that the ICC “expressed its willingness to behaviour an enquiry into the codification of behaviour usurpation that occurred during the September 14 match”, referring to Pycroft’s petition to Pakistan and India captains to debar the customary handshake astatine the toss, which the PCB alleges contravened the laws of the game.

However, a root wrong the ICC told Al Jazeera that Pycroft did not apologise to Pakistan and lone clarified his position.

The root besides said that the ICC had investigated the contented and concluded that it did not warrant an enactment against the Zimbabwean lucifer referee.

The Zimbabwean lucifer authoritative volition beryllium successful complaint of Sunday’s India-Pakistan fixture arsenic well.