Former India men’s cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri took an indirect dig at Pakistan cricket team, their board and fans at the coin toss for first Test of the series between India and West Indies. At Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on October 2, Shastri introduced the two captains and match referee Andy Pycroft who was at the centre of handshake controversy snub which irked the Pakistan cricket team during the T20 Asia Cup 2025.
“Back in the house, all the way from Dubai, in the hot seat. Andy Pycroft," Shastri said at the coin toss.
PCB’s drama to remove Pycroft ended unsuccessfully during Asia Cup
Pycroft was the match referee for the group stage game when captain Suryakumar Yadav chose not to shake Pakistan skipper Salman Agha’s hand at coin toss and after the match. Suryakumar also dedicated the win to Pahalgam terrorist victims and lauded the Indian Armed Forces.
Miffed by the handshake snub, PCB wrote a letter to the International Cricket Council (ICC) demanding Pycroft’s removal as match referee for the rest of the tournament. ICC rejected the demand and kept Pycroft as match referee for their next match as well. Pakistan took help of theatrics, threatening to pull out of UAE clash and then posted a video of Pyrcoft talking to Agha without any audio, claiming that he has apologised.
Pycroft continued to carry out match referee duties in the T20 Asia Cup 2025. India beat Pakistan three consecutive times to win the tournament. Later, PCB made a laughing stock of themselves as their chief Mohsin Naqvi ran away with the Asia Cup trophy and winner medals as his team’s failures continued.
Chase wins toss
Meanwhile, West Indies captain Roston Chase won the toss and opted to bat first in the series opener. Skipper Gill and vice-captain Ravindra Jadeja unveiled the Test jersey with new sponsor, Apollo Tyres. Gill picked three spinners, two pacers and one pace-bowling all-rounder in the playing eleven. On the other hand, Chase handed Test debut caps to Khary Pierre and Johann Layne.