NEW DELHI: Former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja stirred controversy by alleging bias against Pakistan, claiming match referee Andy Pycroft was "a favourite of India" and had officiated 90 times of their games.

"What's interesting is... Andy Pycroft is favourite [for the Indians]. Whenever I host tosses, he's always a permanent fixture over there," Ramiz alleged while addressing a press conference alongside PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi.

"This is something blatant for me because, though I thought he had refereed several matches, stats seemingly show something one-sided. It should not be like this. This is a neutral platform, which is why there are referees and match officials. However, I felt that he was fixed there. But I hope that better sense prevails," he added.

However, the numbers tell a different story. Pycroft has stood in 536 men's internationals overall - including 124 involving India, 107 with England, and 102 with Pakistan, along with more than 200 matches featuring other teams.

So while India does top the list, Pakistan isn't far behind, making Raja's claim look more like rhetoric than reality.

PCB had held Pycroft responsible for the handshake controversy after Pakistan Salman Agha and Suryakumar Yadav did not exchange a handshake and their team sheets during the toss on Sunday.

The PCB alleged that Pycroft had prohibited Salman from shaking hands with Suryakumar and told the two captains to not exchange team sheets.

Pakistan lodged two separate complaints with the ICC for the removal of Pycroft but the world body summarily rejected both. The logjam ended as PCB claimed Pycroft tendered an apology to the manager and captain of the Pakistani cricket team for "prohibiting" the handshake at toss on Sunday.