Dubai: Will Andy Pycroft be the match referee in the high-voltage India-Pakistan Asia Cup game on Sunday?
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has apparently said that he will. This, despite objections from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that has been demanding that the former Zimbabwe batter be removed from the ICC’s Elite Panel.
This information has been published by The Telegraph Online though the list of match officials for the Sunday’s game hasn’t yet been made public. The other match referee in the tournament is former West Indies captain Richie Richardson.
The Zimbabwean was the match referee last Sunday when the Indian side, as a policy decision, didn’t shake hands with the Pakistan team. Pycroft found himself in the centre of the controversy after India skipper Suryakumar Yadav didn’t follow the convention at the toss. The PCB wrote to the ICC, asking it not to appoint him as the match referee in their games.
The ICC rejected PCB’s claims that Pycroft violated the ‘Spirit of the Game’ code, insisting that he was merely a messenger, who passed on what was conveyed to him from the designated venue manager of the Asian Cricket Council. He could only pass on the message to Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha, without consulting the ICC, as there were only a few minutes left for the toss.
Pycroft met the Pakistan team management later and “regretted the miscommunication”. The Pakistanis called this an apology.
The ICC had to make it clear that no apology was tendered by the match referee. The international body also accused PCB of violating protocols related to ‘Players and Match Officials Area’ (PMOA), which the latter denied.
If the ICC has actually appointed Pycroft for the match, it has sent out a message that it doesn’t want to budge from its stand, as removing the former Zimbabwe Test batter would set a wrong precedent.
