TimesofIndia.com in Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) is very likely to reject Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) demand for a change of match referee. The response to PCB’s letter addressed to the global cricket body’s General Manager, Wasim Khan, is in the works and could be sent anytime now.PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the President of Asian Cricket Council (ACC), wanted the immediate removal of match referee Andy Pycroft. PCB had alleged that Pycroft requested the captains not to shake hands at the toss. The handshakes didn’t happen, both at the toss and after the game, and there has been no dearth of drama since then.It is reliably understood that Pycroft could well have been following the instructions from someone in the ACC, only as ICC’s job ends after they appoint the officials, in consultation with the organising body.“What has ICC got to do with it? The role ends when the officials are appointed. Someone from the ACC had a chat with Pycroft before the game and what happened at the toss was a result of the chat. About time PCB chief finds out what that chat was, who did it and why. Instead of pointing fingers at ICC to further fuel fire,” says a source tracking developments.TimesofIndia.com reached out to the ICC for a comment on the development, but there was no response from the global cricket body. It now remains to be seen what PCB does next after ICC’s response, as they had threatened to pull out of the tournament if their demand for Pycroft’s removal is not met. With that unlikely to happen, will the Pakistan cricket team not participate in the remainder of the tournament, a tournament organised by a body chaired by the PCB chief? “All this talk and posting on social media is good for the optics and narrative back home, but it makes very little sense. If they had problem with India not shaking hands, even that’s not mandatory,” adds the source. India and Pakistan are scheduled to train at the ICC Academy on September 16, and while the time slots are different, the two sides will be at the same venue for some time together.
