ICC rejects PCB’s ‘Pycroft’ demand, Pakistan might boycott UAE match

PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has reportedly threatened to withdraw from the Pakistan vs UAE match in the Asia Cup if their demands aren't met.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) will not entertain the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) request to remove Andy Pycroft from the panel of match referees for the Asia Cup. The PCB had alleged that Pycroft had a major role to play in the handshake debacle, claiming he’d favoured India over Pakistan.

ICC rejects PCB’s plea

The ICC doesn’t agree with the PCB’s assessment. They believe Pycroft had little to no role in the whole incident. He merely conveyed the Indian team’s message to the Pakistan captain, Salman Ali Agha. This was done to avoid humiliation at the toss for the India vs Pakistan match.

Salman didn’t look upset at toss time. But after Suryakumar Yadav and co. refused to shake hands after the game, he refused to turn up for the post-match interview.

“Late last night, ICC had sent a reply to PCB stating that Pycroft won’t be removed and their plea has been rejected,” an ICC source told PTI.

Will Pakistan boycott the UAE match?

It was reported that PCB could pull out of the Pakistan vs UAE match if PCB’s demand isn’t met. However, that had come out before the UAE beat Oman in their second match of the Asia Cup. As things stand, Pakistan and the UAE will battle for the second Super Four spot from Group A. India has already qualified after beating the UAE and Pakistan.

It’ll be fascinating to see whether PCB and Naqvi have the guts to pull out of what is a virtual knockout match. This would mean that Pakistan will be eliminated from the Asia Cup in the group stage itself.