A huge drama ensued in Dubai on Wednesday after the Pakistan cricket team refused to leave its hotel for the must-win Asia Cup Group A match, with match referee Andy Pycroft being the designated match referee for the game. Ultimately, the match began at 9 pm IST instead of the original 8 pm start. That Pycroft would remain match referee was communicated to PCB chairman and Asian Cricket Council head Mohsin Naqvi by ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta in a conference call. The ICC maintained that the Zimbabwean would remain in charge as he had followed the rules and regulations.
Pakistan had held Pycroft responsible for the embarrassment it faced after its captain, Salman Ali Agha, and India skipper Suryakumar did not exchange a handshake and their team sheets during the toss on Sunday.
The PCB said that Pycroft had told Salman to avoid a handshake with Suryakumar and instructed the two captains not to exchange team sheets. The Indian players did not shake hands with the Pakistan team even after the match, as a mark of solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.
On Wednesday, once the Pakistan team didn’t leave the Grosvenor Hotel in Dubai, it was evident that the deadlock continued after the rejection of a second PCB complaint by the ICC. Pycroft himself was present at the Dubai International Stadium and left the venue surrounded by bodyguards after being called to the ICC Headquarters just a kilometer away from the ground. The ICC gave a six-point rebuttal in which it maintained that the PCB’s complaints were baseless.
The ICC, in its written communication, stated:
- 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 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 ay 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 complain relates to the actual decision that handshakes didn”t take place. The PCB should therefore direct those complaint 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.
