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PCB chief breaks silence on not going ahead with Asia Cup boycott: 'Prime Minister, government officials and...'
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi breaks silence on not going ahead with the Asia Cup boycott despite threatening to do so.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, finally clarified why he didn't boycott the Asia Cup 2025 match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) despite threatening to do so if the ICC didn't meet their demand of removing Andy Pycroft for the remainder of the eight-team tournament following the no-handshake saga in the match between India and Pakistan.
The PCB's theatrics continued on Wednesday, hours before the scheduled start of the match against the UAE, pushing the game back by an hour. The Pakistan body tried its best to get Pycroft removed, but to no avail.
Pycroft remained as the match referee for the match between Pakistan and UAE, and just minutes before the start of the contest, the PCB issued a statement, saying Pycroft apologised for his actions.
When the match between the UAE and Pakistan was delayed by one hour, Naqvi was involved in discussions with former PCB chiefs Ramiz Raja and Najam Sethi regarding what to do and whether to go through with the boycott of the match, which would have ultimately led to Pakistan crashing out of the tournament.
Naqvi said that the boycott was a very big decision, and the situation was being monitored. He said that following the support of Pakistan Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif and other key government officials, it was decided that the team would continue in the tournament and play against the UAE.
“As you all know, there has been a crisis going on since 14th September. We had objections about the role of the match referee. Just a short while back, the match referee had a conversation with the team coach, captain and manager. He said that this incident (no handshakes) should not have happened. We had also requested the ICC earlier to set up an inquiry into the code violation during the match,” Naqvi told reporters on Wednesday.
“We believe that politics and sports can’t go together. This is sports, and let it remain a sport. Cricket should be separate from all this. I requested Sethi Saab and Rameez Raja Saab. If we had to go for a boycott, which was a very big decision, the prime minister, government officials, and lots of other people were also involved, and we got their full support. We were monitoring the issue,” he added.
It must be stated that if Pakistan had pulled out of the Asia Cup voluntarily, there would have been a huge monetary loss, and even the broadcasters could have sought compensation for the board.
‘No politics in sport’
Speaking during the same press conference, Sethi said that the PCB's stand has always been not to mix politics with sport, and it will always be the case. He also claimed that the world hasn't taken kindly to the statements made by India captain Suryakumar Yadav.
“PCB’s objective has always been that there should be no politics in sport. I was also a chairman, and that was the objective then; that’s the objective now. They played politics, we didn’t,” said Sethi.
“We demanded an apology, and they have given the apology. Cricket is the winner. The world will support our stand, and you are all seeing the world’s reaction to India’s stand,” he added.
After India's seven-wicket win, Suryakumar Yadav dedicated the victory to the Indian Armed Forces, saying his team stands in solidarity with the Pahalgam terror attack victims.
The aftermath of the contest saw no handshakes between the players of both the teams as the Indian contingent shut the dressing room door when the Pakistan players and staff approached them for post-match customary greetings.
