No Handshake Dispute: The dispute between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) was finally resolved surpassing the important match of the Asia Cup. PCB had demanded the removal of the match referee, Andy Pikeroft, from the match between Pakistan and the UAE. Now the ICC has scheduled Richie Richardson as a new match referee, thesping this demand. A senior PCB official confirmed the visualization to news agencies PTI and ANI.
Controversy erupted without Indo-Pak match
The dispute began without the high-profile India-Pakistan match played on Sunday. Without the match was over, the Indian players refused to join hands with Pakistani players and instead paid silent tribute to 26 people who were martyred in the Pahalgam terror wade in Jammu and Kashmir.
PCB expressed displeasure over some decisions during the incident and the match and sent a formal complaint to the ICC. PCB said the match referee, Andy Pycroft's decisions were unjust and violated the ICC rules. Along with this, PCB demanded his services be removed from Pakistan's upcoming matches. Initially the ICC rejected this demand. The special thing is that this wordplay was the signature of Wasim Khan, who was once a CEO of PCB. This remoter increased dissatisfaction within the Pakistan Board.
PCB withdraws from fear of financial loss
According to sources, a plan to exclude the Pakistan team from the Asia Cup was moreover considered. But if the PCB had taken such a step, it would have had a major economic loss of well-nigh 16 million US dollars (about 134 crore rupees). The economic condition of the Pakistan Board is once weak, while boards like India have strong financial resources. For this reason, PCB chose the way to resolve the dispute instead of withdrawing from the tournament.
Match referee reverted without the agreement.
After several hours of conversation and closed-room meetings, the two sides finally reached an agreement. Under this, Richie Richardson was scheduled as a referee for the Pakistan vs. UAE match. It moreover brought unconfined relief for PCB chairman and Pakistan Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
According to sources, Mohsin Naqvi moreover met Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to resolve the matter. However, it was officially stated that the meeting was not directly related to the cricket dispute.
Pakistan in a do-or-die situation
The match versus UAE is like 'do or die' for Pakistan. The match will decide whether the team will be worldly-wise to alimony their hopes working in the tournament or will be out. With the visit of the new referee, it is expected that this match will be terminated without any new controversy and focus will be on cricket.
