PYCROFT IN FACE-SAVING APOLOGY FOR PAKISTAN

The Pakistan Cricket Board ended hours of high suspense over whether Pakistan would stay in the Asia Cup tourney by issuing a statement that International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Andy Pycroft had apologised to their team manager and captain for the no-handshake controversy in their Asia Cup game against India on September 14.

- Haridev Pushparaj

The PCB also claimed that the ICC stood ready to conduct an inquiry into the code of conduct violation over the handshake that didn't happen.

The PCB claimed in the statement that Pycroft had barred the captains of India and Pakistan from shaking hands during their match and stated that Pycroft termed the incident a result of “miscommunication” and offered apology.

The statement paved way for Pakistan-UAE knockout match which was delayed by an hour, apart from the two hours of high drama prior to the scheduled start that followed the rejection by ICC of a second complaint that Pakistan made via a letter to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to remove match referee Pycroft from their remaining matches.