Asia Cup: Pakistan To 'Focus On Cricket Only' After Boycott Drama Khaleej Times

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Pakistan has never been a stranger to dramatic and, sometimes, utterly tragic, off-the-field events in cricket. The 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, which robbed Pakistan of international cricket on home soil for several years, and coach Bob Woolmer's sudden death during the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies after the team had slumped to an embarrassing defeat to minnows Ireland, still send shivers down the spines of fans in the South Asian country.

Pakistan's cricket supporters and their media were on the edge again on Wednesday as the country's cricket administrators held closed-door meetings in Lahore.

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But the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was unable to decide whether to allow its team to play the make-or-break Group A Asia Cup match against the UAE in Dubai or boycott the event as a mark of protest for India's handshake snub in the big game on the same ground last Sunday.

Eventually, they took the field, but their indecision forced the organisers to delay the match, which which started at 7:30 pm.

The Pakistan board's demand to remove Andy Pycroft as the match referee for the match at Dubai International Stadium was rejected by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Pycroft, who officiated in their match against India, was under fire in Pakistan for informing in the eleventh hour about India's decision to avoid the customary captains' handshake at the toss.

India's handshake snub rattled Pakistan in what was the first cricket match between the two teams just four months after the bitter South Asian neighbours came to the brink of an all-out war.

The Indian team, which went on to win the match comprehensively by seven wickets, also avoided the post-match handshake, sparking a furious response from the Pakistan team, which alleged that India's actions were against the spirit of cricket.

While pre-match and post-match handshakes are customary and not a rule in playing conditions, Pakistan lodged an official complaint with the ICC, demanding Pycroft's removal from their remaining matches.

There was no official statement from the PCB, but media reports claimed Pakistan threatened to boycott the event if their demand to remove the Zimbabwean match official was rejected.

In the end, Pycroft came out for the toss in the game against the UAE as the match referee. But Pakistan's cricket board announced that the 69-year-old had apologised to Pakistan captain Salman Agha for his handling of Sunday's controversial handshake snub from India.

“ICC's controversial match referee Andy Pycroft has apologised to the manager and captain of the Pakistani cricket team,” PCB said on X.

“Andy Pycroft termed the incident on September 14 as a result of miscommunication and apologised.”

The Pakistan cricket board also stated that the ICC is ready to 'investigate the violation of the Code of Conduct during the match on September 14'.

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council, said Pycroft regretted the handshake incident in the match against India on September 14.

“We were extremely unhappy with the match referee and we also asked the ICC to investigate the code of conduct breach in that match,” Naqvi said in a press conference in Lahore.

“As we always say, cricket and politics should never be mixed. We will continue to focus on cricket only.”

Their last-minute decision of not boycotting the match eventually saved the tournament from what could have been a major embarrassment.

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