Amid tensions from the handshake row, Pakistan await Islamabad’s nod on the following steps earlier than dealing with the UAE. PCB’s plea to switch the match referee was rejected by the ICC. Gamers skilled quietly, skipping press duties.
The Pakistan cricket crew tried to venture calm and composure on the eve of their Asia Cup fixture towards the UAE, however behind the scenes, unease and uncertainty proceed to cloud their marketing campaign. The fallout from Sunday’s controversial handshake episode, the place Indian gamers shunned shaking fingers with their Pakistani counterparts following the Pahalgam terror assault that claimed 26 lives, has left the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) scrambling.
In response to what they seen as a breach of ICC protocol, the PCB demanded the elimination of match referee Andy Pycroft. Nonetheless, their enchantment was swiftly turned down by the Worldwide Cricket Council (ICC), with the rejection letter sarcastically signed by ICC Basic Supervisor Waseem Khan, a former PCB CEO. The optics of that didn’t go unnoticed both.
Whereas PCB officers awaited clearance from Islamabad concerning their subsequent steps, they continued efforts to have Richie Richardson appointed as match referee for the upcoming recreation, which is a transfer seen as a symbolic face-saver for PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi, who additionally serves as Pakistan’s inside minister.
Shahbaz Sharif meets Mohsin Naqvi, what occurred?
Media hypothesis in Pakistan advised that Naqvi’s assembly with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif was linked extra to home issues than cricket, however the way forward for Pakistan’s participation within the Asia Cup nonetheless hangs within the stability. Nonetheless, in accordance with Cricbuzz, the 2 did discuss cricket and the handshake fiasco and a call about their participation is anticipated to be finalised early tomorrow. In the meantime, a withdrawal might price the board an estimated $16 million.
Amid the stress, the crew skipped their pre-match press convention, triggering hypothesis a couple of potential boycott. Nonetheless, they did present up for coaching, albeit in a subdued method. Their gentle and outdated warm-up session stood in stark distinction to India’s high-intensity drills, the place even seasoned gamers like Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma had been put by way of Bronco runs below health coach Adrian Le Roux.