A fake statement is being attributed to International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Andy Pycroft, falsely claiming that he criticised Pakistani players over the recent handshake controversy after the Asia Cup T20 India-Pakistan match.
Pycroft had overseen the India–Pakistan match on September 14 and, as one of the ICC’s most experienced referees, and came under scrutiny after PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi alleged in a now-deleted X post that he had asked both captains to avoid a handshake at the toss. India went on to beat Pakistan by seven wickets in their Asia Cup Group A clash, which was their first meeting since the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. After the match Indian players had skipped handshakes with their opponents.
The Claim: Statement issued by match referee Andy Pycroft slamming Pak players
A screenshot of an X post from a handle named Andy Pycroft is being shared on Facebook claiming he has issued a statement. The X post reads, "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."
Click here to view an archive.
What We Found:
1) Imposter Andy Pycroft X handle
The handle mentioned in the screenshot, @90_andypycroft, is not Pycroft’s official account. On checking its timeline, we found unrelated posts, including commentary on Indian politics and even one in Hindi. This indicates it was impersonating the match referee. The handle has since been suspended by X.
2) News reports on Pycroft
We also did not find any credible news reports on Pycroft making any remarks against Pakistani players after the India–Pakistan match.
