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ICC takes action against Pakistan, punishes PCB for multiple violations, including recording Andy Pycroft video
ICC pulled up Pakistan Cricket Board for misconduct after Andy Pycroft meet was filmed; PCB earlier claimed Pycroft apologised before UAE clash
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has pulled up the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for "violation of multiple tournament rules" ahead of their final Group A Asia Cup 2025 clash against the UAE on Wednesday at the Dubai International Stadium. The team delayed the match in protest against the world body's rejection of their demand to suspend match referee Andy Pycroft from the tournament.
PCB's demand stemmed from the handshake controversy in last Sunday's Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan in Dubai. The board blamed Pycroft for the fiasco and demanded his removal from the tournament's match referee panel, along with threatening a pullout. After the ICC rejected the plea, Pakistan shot another letter on the eve of their game against the UAE.
As the stand-off continued on Wednesday, Pakistan players were instructed not to leave their hotel rooms for the stadium. PCB conducted an elaborate meeting, comprising incumbent chairman Mohsin Naqvi (also the head of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC)) and his successors Najam Sethi and Ramiz Raja, which caused an hour-long delay in the start of the match. Eventually, the players were given a green light to continue their participation in the Asia Cup.
Prior to the start of the match, PCB took to social media to claim that Pycroft apologised to the Pakistan camp. Shortly after, a video was released on X showing the Zimbabwean in conversation with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha, team manager Naved Akram Cheema, and head coach Mike Hesson in the match referee's room. However, the audio was muted.
According to a report in the PTI, ICC sent an email to the PCB right before the start of the game on Wednesday, citing "misconduct" and "multiple violations" of the Players and Match Officials Area (PMOA) protocol.
"The ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta has written to the PCB stating that the board has been guilty of repeated PMOA violations on match day. PCB is in receipt of the e-mail," a tournament source told the news agency.
The report further said that despite Pakistan being warned of the violations, PCB allowed media manager Naeem Gillani to film the meeting. In fact, ICC had also warned that media managers are barred from attending such meetings.
The report also claimed that, in order to reach a middle ground on Wednesday, amid the Pakistan players being barred from playing the match against the UAE, the ICC agreed to PCB's final demand that Pycroft would meet the team captain and manager before the toss.
"PCB brought to the meeting their media manager and insisted that he be present during the conversation," he added. Naeem was refused entry by the ICC Anti-Corruption Manager because "he wanted to take his mobile phone into the PMOA".
In fact, PCB had further threatened to pull out of the match when Naeem was not allowed to enter the match referee's room, and then insisted on filming the conversation, albeit with no audio, which was a "further violation of the PMOA regulations."
"The ICC, in order to preserve the interest of the sport, the tournament and the stakeholders involved accepted PCB's asks although this demonstrated a complete disregard for the sanctity of the PMOA, where the meeting took place," the source said.
ICC was not aware of how the footage would be used by the PCB, but a short clip of it was shared on various social media handles, sparking speculation. However, the apex body clarified that it merely expressed regret over a miscommunication, thus contradicting the PCB's claim.
