The Pakistan Cricket Board has denied it breached protocol by filming a meeting between ICC match referee Andy Pycroft and team officials in the Players and Match Officials Area (PMOA) of the Dubai International Cricket Stadium earlier this week. After PCB delayed the departure of their team from the hotel ahead of a crucial Group A match of the Asia Cup with UAE, in a hastily arranged meeting Prycoft clarified the miscommunication with Pakistan captain Salman Agha that resulted in the handshake row.
The match eventually started after being delayed for an hour with PCB claiming Pycroft has apologised for asking Salman Agha to not shake hands with his Indian counterpart Suryakumar Yadav during the toss for India vs Pakistan match last Sunday.
In a strongly-worded letter to PCB, ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta cited “multiple violations” of the PMOA code, including the recording of the interaction that involved Pycroft, Pakistan coach Mike Hesson, captain Agha, and manager Naveed Akram Cheema.
“The team’s media manager is part of the squad and has authorised access to the PMOA. His presence there is not a violation,” a tournament source was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
According to the PCB, existing protocols allow media managers to use cameras in the PMOA.
“If the Standard Operating Procedure was not followed, the ICC should check with the (match) referee on whether the matter was reported to the ACU,” the source added.
However, quoting a tournament source, PTI reported that the matter was indeed flagged by the ICC match official to the Pakistan team’s ACU official and he had acknowledged the same.
