Azhar Chaudhry, Daily Dawn, Dawn TV Report
Dubai: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made it clear that if match referee Andy Pycroft is not removed from the Asia Cup, the Pakistani team will not play the remaining matches.
According to Indian media, the Asian Cricket Council is trying to find a middle ground to resolve the issue, and it has been suggested that Richie Richardson be appointed in place of Pycroft only in Pakistan’s matches instead of the entire tournament.
Two days ago, during the Pakistan-India match, at the time of the toss, Andy Pycroft had told Pakistan captain Salman Agha that there would be no handshake on this occasion. Earlier, Pycroft had also told Pakistan’s media manager not to record all this.
At the end of the match, PCB manager Naveed Akram Cheema expressed his concerns to tournament director Andrew Russell, to which Andrew Russell said that this step was taken after receiving instructions from the Indian board and the Indian government.
The PCB, in a letter to the ICC and MCC, took the position that the match referee had violated the MCC laws and the “spirit of the game” and had not fulfilled his responsibility. The letter further said that this was a very serious violation and Pakistan would take a strong stand on it.
According to sources, if the match referee is not changed, Pakistan will not participate in further matches of the Asia Cup.
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