The ICC has cleared match referee Andy Pycroft of all charges claimed against him by the Pakistan Cricket Board and has instead issued a clear statement that the official helped prevent embarrassment for the skippers when he told them to avoid handshakes at the time of the coin toss.
Following the misconduct in the India vs Pakistan match, the PCB had moved the ICC with an official complaint lodged against the Match referee Andy Pycroft, for having violated the ICC preamble for the spirit of the game.
India, however, from the very first, had no such complaint against the match referee and ruled him out of accusations of having picked sides. They also ruled out accusations claiming that he had informed about the snubbing of handshakes to the Indian skipper, but his bias caused humiliation to the Pakistani players and management.
Your daily dose of cricket!
ICC has officially cleared Andy Pycroft of any charges
The ICC has now categorically conveyed to the Pakistan Cricket Board that it cannot remove match referee Andy Pycroft from the Asia Cup’s panel of referees. It has been learned that the ICC, during its communication with PCB, has emphasized that there was no wrongdoing on the part of the match referee, as per Cricbuzz.
The ICC has not blamed PCB for anything and has rather conceded that the PCB was well within its rights to lodge an official complaint to the cricket governing body. The ICC has also conducted its part of the inquiry and has found no wrongdoing by the match referee.
The ICC has also clearly stated that the appointment of match officials is a centralised ICC decision and it cannot be influenced by considerations of any one member board.
ICC insisted that Pycroft instead helped prevent an embarrassment
The International Board’s communique noted that the inquiry not only concluded in Pycroft’s favour because he had not done anything wrong but also because he had rather helped both the teams, especially Pakistan, safeguard their honour at the time of the toss.
It was already pre-decided within the Indian camp that they would only play the game and avoid any such customary handshakes or acts of sportsmanship with the Pakistan team members. However, it was unknown to the Pakistani players.
Pycroft helped prevent embarrassment for Salman Agha when he asked the skipper to avoid the handshake during the toss. The two captains did not exchange glances at each other and walked back straight to their dugouts after the toss concluded.
Pakistan delay the start of the match against the UAE
Pakistan have once again made a mockery of themselves, as they could not stand firm on their resolve to boycott the Asia Cup encounter against the UAE in their final group-stage game. The game is a do-or-die for them to keep their chances alive in the competition.
The PCB first instructed the players not to leave the team hotel and informed the management that they would not play the match, as the ICC did not accept its demands regarding the snubbing of the match referee.
However, later, Mohsin Naqvi, through the social media handle, informed all of Pakistan of its continuation in the Asia Cup. They pleaded for delaying the game to reach this conclusion within its members.
As of now, the Pakistan team is out in the middle at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and has also lost their opener, Saim Ayub. They are struggling early in the power play at the score of 9/1, at the time of writing.
ALSO READ: Pakistan continue clownery, make another U-turn after Asia Cup boycott drama, agree for UAE clash
