Dubai — The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has filed a formal complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) against match referee Andy Pycroft during the present Asia Cup. The PCB has asked for Pycroft to be removed from the competition right away, saying that he has acted in a way that goes beyond the ICC Code of Conduct for Match Officials.
The fight started after the recent India-Pakistan match, which India won by seven wickets. The fight started at the toss when Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and Pakistani captain Salman Ali Agha didn’t shake hands. The Indian players didn’t shake hands with the Pakistani players after the game, which made things worse. They just went off the field and into their dressing room. The move made the Pakistani players and officials “fuming,” and Pakistan’s skipper skipped the post-match interview in protest.
The PCB says in its letter to the ICC that Pycroft was the main problem, saying that he told the captains not to shake hands at the toss. The PCB said this behavior was “alarming” and “clearly goes against the Spirit of Cricket and MCC Laws.” The letter said that Pycroft had not done his job to make sure that the two teams respected one other and had a good time. It further said that “the highest level of offense has been committed” and that “the misconduct has also caused disrepute to the game.”
But today, sources from the Press Trust of India (PTI) say that the ICC has officially turned down the PCB’s requests. PTI was told by an ICC source that a message was given to the PCB saying that Pycroft will not be removed from his job during the event. There have also been reports that the “no handshake” rule at the toss was a command from the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that Pycroft passed on to Walha, but Walha did not tell his own captain about it. Mohsin Naqvi, the head of the PCB and the ACC, is said to have told Walha to quit because he was embarrassed.
Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav defended his team’s behavior, saying that they didn’t shake hands on purpose. He gave the win to the armed services and the people who died in the Pahalgam terror assault, saying that the move was a sign of support that went “beyond sportsmanship.” The event has put the political and military tensions between the two countries in the spotlight of the cricketing world, making the on-field performance less important.