The Pakistan-United Arab Emirates Asia Cup clash is set to go through on Wednesday after Zimbabwean referee Andy Pycroft apologised to the manager and captain of the Green Shirts.
Uncertainty regarding the national team’s participation in the Asia Cup today emerged after the handshake controversy that unfolded in their match against archrivals India. “The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not yet made any final decision regarding the Asia Cup,” spokesperson Amir Mir had said in a statement that came late on Tuesday night, following what Dawn learnt was a meeting involving officials from the board and the government in Islamabad.
The PCB correspondence was followed by Pakistan’s decision to not hold their pre-match press conference ahead of their final Group ‘A’ fixture against hosts UAE. The Pakistan team did, however, turn up for practice on the eve of the game.
The Zimbabwean oversaw Sunday’s politically charged clash with India, after which the victorious India team refused to shake hands with the Pakistan players. The PCB said that Pycroft told Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha not to shake hands with Indian counterpart Suryakumar Yadav before the match. Pycroft was scheduled to be the match referee for today’s game as reports coming out from India claimed the ICC had rejected Pakistan’s demand.
A statement issued today by the PCB shortly before the toss between Pakistan and UAE said: “The ICC’s match referee, Andy Pycroft, has apologised to the manager and captain of the Pakistan cricket team.”
It said he termed the Sunday incident “a result of miscommunication and apologised”. The PCB also added that the ICC expressed its willingness to conduct an inquiry into the code of conduct violation that occurred during the match.
The Pakistan cricket team was earlier seen leaving their hotel for their Asia Cup match against the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief asked them to depart.
Sport news outlet Espncricinfo reported, citing multiple sources, that “Andy Pycroft remained the match referee for the match.”
In a post on X, Naqvi earlier said: “We have asked the Pakistan team to depart for the Dubai Cricket Stadium. Further details to follow.”
The Asian Cricket Council confirmed in a statement that the match would go ahead at 8:30pm PKT.
Mir earlier said the clash was delayed by one hour amid uncertainty over whether the match would even be played at all.
“The consultation process is ongoing and PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi is discussing with former chairmen Ramiz Raja and Najam Sethi and on the other hand, online negotiations are also going on with Dubai. Immediately, the match between UAE and Pakistan has been delayed by one hour,” he said.
Mir said efforts were underway to achieve some “good news” and Naqvi would make the final announcement himself.
Earlier, media reports said the Pakistan cricket team would not play their men’s Asia Cup 2025 match against the UAE, according to media reports.
Geo News reported that the team was given official instructions to return to their rooms, with the team bus parking outside the entrance to unload the players’ equipment.
Footage run by DawnNewsTV showed team staff loading kit bags into a bus outside the players’ hotel, adding that the bus was headed to the stadium.
This is not the first time teams have tried to change a match official in international cricket. India, in a 2001 test against South Africa, tried to have match referee Mike Denness removed, according to a report by Cricinfo.
The Indian and South African cricket boards agreed to remove Denness; however, the decision was not taken by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
