Pakistan Gains Minor Relief as ICC Weighs U-Turn in Handshake Controversy

Pakistan cricket news: After keeping all options on the table for several days, the PCB finally ruled out Pakistan’s withdrawal from the tournament and said that the team will play its final group stage match against the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday.

The PCB had demanded that Pycroft, match referee for all Pakistan matches, be replaced over the weekend as he “violated” ICC U-turn report and his decisions had “affected” the outcome of Sunday’s match against India when the visiting team refused to shake the hands of the Pakistani players to show solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.

While the ICC had earlier rejected the request, it changed its mind late on Tuesday with reports suggesting that the sudden development came as a result of the intense lobbying by the PCB throughout the day to have the rules of the game complied with. Sources had told Dawn.com that PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi had an ‘exchange of views’ with the ICC general manager Waseem Khan in the afternoon. The rejection letter was also personally signed by Khan who had served as the PCB’s CEO in the past.

ICC decision Pakistan to call off a press conference scheduled for 7.30pm on Tuesday was also an interesting one considering that it was cancelled a little over an hour before the team’s training session for the game on Wednesday.

Naqvi’s own position could also have strengthened his hand after having played an important role in the way things played out during the two days in the lead-up to the match on Sunday with some Pakistani media outlets citing his meeting with the prime minister in the morning in this handshake controversy cricket.

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