Who will be the referee in the Pakistan-United Arab Emirates match to be held tomorrow? No decision has been made yet as both ICC and PCB are appeared to be locking horns over the issue, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Tuesday.
The Pakistan Cricket Board is stood by its stance that if match referee Andy Pycroft is not removed from the Asia Cup, the remaining matches will not be played.
The Asian Cricket Council has started trying to find a middle ground to resolve the matter due to the PCB's tough stance.
Indian cricket website 'Cricket Buzz' claimed that the ACC has suggested removing Pycroft from Pakistan's matches only instead of the entire tournament and Richie Richardson could be used in Pakistan's matches instead of Pycroft.
On Monday, the PCB had lodged a complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) against the match referee for Sunday’s Asia Cup game between Pakistan and India over his alleged violations of rules pertaining to the “Spirit of Cricket”.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, referring to referee Andy Pycroft, wrote: “The PCB has lodged a complaint with the ICC regarding violations by the Match Referee of the ICC Code of Conduct and the MCC Laws pertaining to the Spirit of Cricket.”
Mohsin Naqvi further said “The PCB has demanded an immediate removal of the match referee from the Asia Cup.”
Spinners led by Kuldeep Yadav helped India beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the Asia Cup on Sunday as the neighbours met on the cricket pitch for the first time since a military conflict in May.
Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav hit the winning shot as Indian fans celebrated at a stadium, which had a lot of empty seats, and the players from both teams went off without handshakes.
Suryakumar, in the presentation, said India took the match against Pakistan as “just another game” and dedicated the win to the Indian army. “We stand with the victims of the families of the Pahalgam attack and we express our solidarity,” Suryakumar said. “We want to dedicate today’s win to the armed forces.”
After hitting the winning shot, Suryakumar and his teammates refused to shake hands with their Pakistan counterparts. The captain said in the post-match press conference that the move was in alignment “with the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) and the government”.
Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha did not show up in the post-match ceremony as a reaction to the Indian team’s move.
“It was a follow-on effect of the fact that we were obviously keen to engage and shake hands at the end of the match, but that obviously didn’t happen,” Pakistan coach Mike Hesson said later.
Reporter: Wasim Ahmad