Pakistan-UAE match goes on after Pycroft files an apology

The match between UAE and Pakistan was delayed by an hour on Wednesday as after much hype and hullabaloo, finally Pakistan dropped their idea of pulling out and agreed to play.

Indian players had refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts. Before the match, match referee Andy Pycroft had asked Pakistan captain Salman Agha to avoid a handshake with Suryakumar Yadav of India.

Pakistan called Pycroft’s gesture of talking on the behest of India as a clear violation of the code of conduct of the game by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the custodians of the game.

Pakistan brought up the issue with ICC and demanded the removal of Pycroft from officiating in the remaining matches. ICC, which is headed by Jay Shah, son of India’s home minister, did not yield to the demands of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Pakistan cancelled their pre-match conference and threatened to pull out of the tournament. But, after Pycroft gave an official apology, Pakistan agreed to play.

A statement issued by PCB said: “The match referee Andy Pycrofy apologized to Pakistan team’s captain and manager.

“Pycroft called the incident a miscommunication and ICC assured to launch an inquiry into the matter.”

If Pakistan had pulled out of the match, it would have cost them a whopping $12-15 million.