Pakan likely to pull out of Asia Cup; ICC rejects PCB demand to remove match referee Andy Pycroft
The Pakan Cricket Board has stopped its team from leaving for the stadium for the must-win Asia Cup match against the UAE. The players are currently waiting in the team hotel for further updates. The development casts a pall of uncertainty over Wednesday’s match as well as Pakan’s further involvement in the tournament underway in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Multiple reports have also confirmed that the Pakan Cricket Board (PCB) has called an urgent press conference at its headquarters where a clear picture is expected. After Indian players refused to shake hands with their Pakan counterparts during their group fixture on Sunday, the PCB has been calling for match referee Andy Pycroft to be replaced. In a communication with the International Cricket Council, PCB had demanded that the Zimbabwean be removed from his post for the match against UAE and be replaced Richie Richardson as they claim that he had instructed captains Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Ali Agha not to shake hands at the toss. However, the ICC hasn’t adhered to PCB’s request and in fact, Pycroft turned up at the Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday as per the match roster.
PCB has contended that Pycroft had informed its Agha that there won’t be any handshakes during the toss after Surya had taken the call to not shake hands in light of the Pahalgam terror attack and the subsequent Operation Sindoor. While the match between the arch-rivals went ahead, there were no customary handshakes between the two teams after India’s victory either.
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After the match, Indian players headed into the dressing room even as Pakan players and their support staff waited. Later, Pakan didn’t turn up at the post-match award presentation with head coach Mike Hesson expressing his disappointment at the press conference at the Indian gesture.
Since then, the PCB has been demanding that Pycroft be removed from the match, a request that the ICC has refused to entertain. PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi also heads the Asian Cricket Council, which is hosting the event.
