By Staff Reporter
LAHORE: Pakistan’s cricket board said on Wednesday a Zimbabwean referee had apologised to the national team’s manager and captain over a handshake snub by India in a politically charged Asia Cup clash, easing doubts about the side’s participation in its next match.
The apology from Andy Pycroft came hours before toss time in Pakistan’s Group A fixture against hosts United Arab Emirates, following days of tension sparked by Sunday’s high-stakes encounter with arch-rivals India.
Pycroft, who officiated the India match, had reportedly instructed Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha not to shake hands with his Indian counterpart Suryakumar Yadav before the game. After India’s victory, the Indian players refused to extend handshakes to their Pakistani opponents, fuelling outrage and reports that the International Cricket Council (ICC) had rejected Pakistan’s call to replace Pycroft for Wednesday’s UAE game.
In a statement issued shortly before the toss, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said the “ICC’s match referee, Andy Pycroft, has apologised to the manager and captain of the Pakistan cricket team.”
It added that Pycroft described the Sunday incident “a result of miscommunication and apologised”. The board also noted that the ICC had expressed willingness to conduct an inquiry into the code of conduct violation during the match.
At a press conference in Lahore just after the toss, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, flanked by former board heads Najam Sethi and Ramiz Raja, recounted the saga and confirmed the apology.
“Politics and cricket cannot go together. Let sports remain sports. Cricket should be above all this,” Naqvi said. He added that he had sought input from his predecessors, as any boycott would have required broad consultation among stakeholders.
“These two specially came and we were constantly monitoring this because we did not even know ourselves what decision would be taken at the last moment. God maintained Pakistan’s dignity as the nation was expecting and I hope that we will now focus on cricket and not on politics.”
Naqvi expressed optimism for the team’s tournament run and urged fans to back them to the finish. “We have a big panel of selectors, which will review and if there is any weakness, I promise that I will sit with them and tell them to remove them.”
Sethi echoed the call to keep politics out of sport, praising the PCB’s handling of the row. “I think cricket is the winner and we should continue to play the game,” he said, adding that the board had shown sportsmanship.
Raja called the resolution a “win”, noting the “critical” juncture the row had reached. “Emotions were running high and I am happy that an emotional decision was not taken that would have damaged cricket,” he said. He stressed that the team should let its on-field results do the “talking” and channel any frustration into performance.
Earlier, the Pakistan squad had been spotted departing their hotel for the UAE match, at Naqvi’s urging. The Asian Cricket Council confirmed in a statement that the game would proceed at 1830 Pakistan time (1530 GMT).
The drama had peaked late Tuesday, when, after a meeting in Islamabad involving PCB and government officials, board spokesperson Amir Mir said no final call had been made on the Asia Cup participation.
Media reports had earlier claimed the Pakistanis would boycott the fixture, with Geo News saying the side received orders to return to their rooms and that the team bus had pulled up outside the hotel to unload equipment. But footage aired by television channels showed staff loading kit bags onto a bus outside the players’ hotel, with the vehicle bound for the stadium.
The episode is not the first time a team has sought to oust a match official in international cricket. In a 2001 Test between India and South Africa, India pushed to remove referee Mike Denness, as reported by Cricinfo. The Indian and South African boards agreed to sideline him, though the ICC did not endorse the move.
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