The ICC has finally issued a formal response to the PCB on the handshake row after the Pakistan Cricket Board wrote twice to the Apex International body, urging the removal of the match referee Andy Pycroft from the ongoing Asia Cup.
Pakistan faced immense humiliation on Sunday in the Asia Cup, as the Indian players left for the dressing room immediately after finishing with the chase as a silent protest against the terror attacks in the Pahalgam Valley. However, PCB took this as humiliating conduct and immediately launched accusations against the match referee.
ICC has denied all PCB claims; Andy Pycroft praised for saving captains from embarrassment in the Asia Cup
The PCB, headed by Mohsin Naqvi, accused the match referee of misconduct, as they claimed that the Pakistan skipper, Salman Agha, was not informed about the snub of handshakes, while the Indian skipper, Suryakumar Yadav, was.
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As per a report in PTI, ICC has ruled out all such claims and has clearly stated that they have found that Pycroft followed all rules and regulations to the ‘T.’ ICC has rather praised Andy Pycroft for saving both captains from embarrassment during the game toss. The Apex body also washed its hands of the issue as it pushed it towards the ACC.
According to ICC claims, the ACC and tournament officials are responsible for the conduct of matters like handshakes on the field and have stated that the ICC or the match referee has no rule to play in it. Ironically, the ACC is also headed by the PCB chief, Mohsin Naqvi.
ICC 6-point rebuttal sent for PCB (as quoted by PTI)
1) The ICC’s investigation was conducted on the basis of the information provided in the report lodged by the PCB. We took the report at Face value and note that no supporting documentation or evidence was provided with it. The PCB had every opportunity to submit a statement from its team members alongside the initial report but chose not to do so.
2) Following our investigation, we determined that there was no case to answer on the part of match referee for the Misconduct. The actions that match referee took was, following clear directions to him from ACC Venue Manager, were consistent with how a match referee will deal with such an issue, communicated as it was with no time for him to do anything else (minutes before the toss).
3) Mr Pycroft was committed to preserving the sanctity of the toss and avoiding any potential embarrassment that might have arisen.
4) The Match Referee was not at fault in any of this.
5) It is not the role of the Match Referee to regulate any team or tournament-specific protocols which have been agreed outside of the area of play; that is a matter for the tournament organizers and relevant team managers.
6) It appears that the PCB’s real concern or complaint relates to the actual decision that handshakes didn’t take place. The PCB should therefore direct those complaints to the tournament organizer and those who took the actual decision (which was not the Match Referee). The ICC doesn’t have a role in that..
Can Pakistan come through the do-or-die contest against the UAE
UAE won the toss and had opted to bowl first. Their primary goal was to keep the opposition’s score under check. The bowlers did a commendable job as they restricted Pakistan to less than 150.
The early breakthroughs of the two openers and then the sudden middle-order collapse caused by Simranjit Singh had broken the back of the Pakistan batting order. However, Shaheen Afridi‘s last-over cameo took Pakistan to a respectable score of 146/9.
The Pakistan bowlers now have a tough job to do, as they have to defend the target of 147 in front of the UAE batting lineup, who might pose a great challenge with their abilities in such modest chases.
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