Dubai: The Pakistan Cricket Board has not yet received any response from the ICC on the matter of removing Andy Pycroft.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has not yet received any response from the ICC and sources say that the Pakistan team will not leave for the stadium unless the referee change is confirmed.
According to sources, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi is in constant contact with PCB officials and the team will go to the stadium only after the PCB receives the ICC’s email regarding referee change.
How long will the PCB wait for the ICC’s response?
Sources say that the Pakistan Cricket Board has not given a deadline to the ICC, the ball is now in the ICC’s court, the Pakistan Cricket Board is waiting and the team has been instructed to complete the preparations for the match.
According to sources, if the referee’s change is confirmed even some time before the match, the team will leave for the stadium, but Andy Pycroft is not accepted as a referee and the match will not be played without him.
On the other hand, PCB sources say that Richie Richardson is likely to be appointed in the Pakistan-United Arab Emirates match.
It should be noted that the Pakistan Cricket Board has demanded the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft from the Asia Cup matches and PCB sources say that Pakistan is committed to not playing the remaining matches if Pycroft is not removed.
No choice but to remove Pycroft, PCB writes to ICC again with strong stance
The controversy over match referee Andy Pycroft in the Asia Cup has intensified and after Pakistan’s strong stance, the ICC is left with no other option but to remove the controversial match referee.
According to sources, the PCB wrote a letter to the ICC again for not accepting the demand to change the match referee. In the reply letter, the PCB also took a strong stance and rejected the decision not to take action against match referee Andy Pycroft.
Sources have said that in the reply letter, Pakistan refused to play in the match supervised by Andy Pycroft and insisted on its boycott stance if the demand was not accepted.
Sources say that Pakistan also described the ICC’s inquiry against the controversial referee as a formality and said that neither all aspects were examined for the inquiry nor were the relevant people contacted.
According to sources, Pakistan has stressed the need to remove all reservations and said that Pakistan will agree to play Pakistan after all reservations are removed and a formal announcement of acceptance of the demand is made.
Read More: Pakistan’s demand rejected, PCB stands by its stance of withdrawing from the event
Sources say that after Pakistan’s tough stance, the ICC’s difficulties have increased and a formal announcement regarding the match referee is expected soon.
According to sources, after Pakistan’s tough stance, the ICC has no choice but to remove the match referee from Pakistani matches.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board had cancelled the press conference scheduled for the national team’s match against the UAE in Dubai yesterday, however, the players had completed the practice session as usual and were fully prepared for the match against the UAE.
If Pakistan boycotts the match today, the UAE will get points and will qualify for the Super Four stage.
If Pakistan plays the match, it will reach the Super Four stage in case of victory, where another match against India is scheduled.
It should be noted that after defeating Pakistan in the Asia Cup, the Indian team did not shake hands with the Pakistani players, violating the sportsman spirit.
According to the spokesperson of the Pakistan team, the match referee had requested the captains not to shake hands even at the time of the toss.
Even after the match, the two players did not shake hands and the Indian players went straight to their dressing rooms. In protest, the national team captain Salman Ali Agha also did not attend the closing ceremony.
Later, the PCB demanded the removal of Zimbabwean match referee Andy Pycroft from the Asia Cup and threatened not to play any more matches in the tournament if this was not done.
