Inside story: How ICC, Pakistan break ice over match referee deadlock

It seemed like Pakistan were about to forfeit the Asia Cup tournament just hours before their crunch game against the United Arab Emirates, as the deadlock with the International Cricket Council (ICC) got worse.

Things were not looking good at all after the ICC rejected the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s multiple pleas to remove match referee Andy Pycroft following the handshake row.

It all started during the anticipated game between Pakistan and India, when the Men in Blue refused to shake hands with their counterparts.

It was revealed that Andy Pycroft was allegedly involved in the mishap.

The PCB took immediate action on this matter by writing to the ICC, demanding the removal of the Zimbabwean match referee from the Asia Cup, threatening to withdraw from the tournament if the demand was not met.

The exchange of emails and dialogs between the PCB and ICC officials continued for three days, but all ended inconclusively.

On Wednesday, the Pakistan cricket team was asked by PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi to stay in their hotel just an hour before the game against UAE, causing a delay in the start of the game.

However, suddenly, the PCB softened its stance and instructed the team to proceed to the ground, expressing readiness to play today’s match as scheduled. Nonetheless, the match started an hour late.

Sources revealed that after a meeting between the ICC and PCB regarding this dispute ended inconclusively, the match was concluded with Pakistan clinching a spot in the super four after a 41-run victory.

However, during this time, backdoor efforts to resolve the issues continued, with sources claiming that several emails were exchanged between the two sides to find a logical solution to the dispute.

Following this, Andy Pycroft flanked by ICC General Manager Wasim Khan met Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha, head coach Mike Hesson, and Naveed Cheema at the Dubai Cricket Stadium.

During this meeting, Pycroft apologized for the incident that occurred during the Pakistan-India match, attributing it to a lack of communication.

Sources state that due to Richie Richardson’s unavailability, Pycroft supervised the UAE-Pakistan match. However, once the matter is completely resolved, Pycroft will also supervise matches in the Super Four stage.