The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) suspended Director of International Cricket Operations, Usman Wahla, after the national men’s team’s seven-wicket loss to India in the 2025 Asia Cup. According to reports in the Pakistani media, the Mohsin Naqvi-chaired board deemed it necessary to take disciplinary action against Wahla because he ‘failed to take timely action’ over the handshake controversy in the match.
India refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts after the match concluded, with captain Suryakumar Yadav and his batting partner Shivam Dube walking off straight to the dressing room. The Pakistan team was seen hanging around for a bit, but the Indians shut their dressing room door.
PCB have since alleged that the match referee, Andy Pycroft, had also told Suryakumar and Pakistan skipper Salman Agha that there would be no handshakes at the coin flip. They have demanded ICC remove him from the 2025 Asia Cup completely, accusing him of breaching the international body’s code of conduct.
According to reports, Naqvi conducted an internal review, which concluded that Wahla failed to manage the issue effectively. The board expected him to safeguard Pakistan’s position in such matters of sportsmanship and believed that he should have flagged and resolved it before the match began. Wahla has been in the job for two years and is also the chairman of the Pakistan Super League, the country’s premier T20 tournament.
In his retort, Salman Agha refused to turn up to the post-match presentation. Head coach Mike Hesson, who said his team was ‘disappointed’ that India didn’t participate in the customary handshakes, said Agha’s actions were ‘flow’ and ‘effect’ of the incident.
