It seems that the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) threat of withdrawing from their game against the UAE has worked in their favor, as Andy Pycroft has reportedly been replaced as the match referee for tonight’s PAK vs UAE encounter in Dubai. And that is despite the ICC rejecting PCB’s demand earlier.
The Pakistan vs UAE match of Group A on Wednesday in Dubai is a knockout fixture: the winner of this match will proceed to the Super 4 round, while the losing side will be eliminated from the Asia Cup 2025.
Why Did Andy Pycroft Get Replaced?
The PCB were upset over the no-handshake decision from Team India during the India vs Pakistan clash on Sunday. It was alleged by the PCB that Pycroft had informed the Pakistan captain, Salman Ali Agha, that there would be no handshake at the toss, who reportedly was told of this by the tournament officials.
The PCB then launched an official complaint with the ICC manager Wasim Khan, and demanded the removal of Pycroft from the Asia Cup, or else Pakistan would pull themselves out of the competition. The ICC was quick in rejecting PCB’s request, since that would set a bad precedent.
But the PCB retained their stance on the threat of withdrawal from their game against the UAE. If that would happen, the UAE will get the two points and would proceed to the Super 4 round. Thus, the possibility of another India vs Pakistan match would vanish, which would hurt the broadcasters and the organizers significantly.
PAK vs UAE: Will Pakistan play against UAE?
According to Cricbuzz, a resolution has been reached, and Pakistan will play their group stage match against the UAE. The tournament authorities have replaced Andy Pycroft as match referee for the Pakistan vs UAE match, but Pycroft will officiate in other games in the Asia Cup. Richie Richardson, who is the other match referee in this competition, will officiate the PAK vs UAE fixture.
Although the ICC rejected PCB’s demand of Pycroft’s removal, the Asia Cup authorities have reportedly made a call to replace Pycroft for one game with Richardson.
PCB Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the ACC president, had flown on Tuesday night to Lahore to attend the meeting with the board over Pakistan’s participation in PAK vs UAE. Naqvi, who is also a minister in the Pakistan government, had met the government officials on Tuesday in Islamabad over the same matter.
If Pakistan play and beat UAE tonight, they will meet India on September 21 in Dubai once again for their Super 4 clash.
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