The International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to discipline Pakistan for what it called a "violation of multiple tournament rules" prior to their Asia Cup match against the UAE. Their match, played on Wednesday, was delayed when Pakistan declined to field as a protest over the governing body's decision not to replace match referee Andy Pycroft.
The ICC is likely to take action against Pakistan for "violation of multiple tournament rules" prior to their Asia Cup match against the UAE that was delayed by the team to protest the world body's rejection of its demand to remove match referee Andy Pycroft. The ICC has shot off an e-mail to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) citing "misconduct" and "multiple violations" of the Players and Match Officials Area (PMOA) protocol before the game held on Wednesday. "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 PTI.
In spite of constant warnings, Pakistan is reported to have cracked the code by allowing media manager Naeem Gillani to tape-record a pre-match sit-down meeting that included Pycroft, head coach Mike Hesson, and captain Salman Ali Agha. ICC regulations particularly prohibit media managers from doing so.
The scandal started with the India-Pakistan match on Sunday, when the team blamed Pycroft for initiating the "no handshake" incident at the toss. The PCB complained that the referee prevented Salman from shaking hands with his Indian counterpart Suryakumar Yadav. Suryakumar, however, explained that the gesture was a sign of solidarity with victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.
To resolve the issue, the ICC decided that Pycroft would meet with the Pakistan skipper and manager before Wednesday's toss. "The intention was to eliminate any unfortunate misunderstanding or miscommunication that could have taken place at the time of the toss (of the India match)," the source clarified.
But the PCB insisted that Gillani be permitted entry into the meeting, something that was refused by the ICC's Anti-Corruption Manager upon Gillani trying to take his mobile phone inside the PMOA. At that point, the PCB had allegedly threatened to pull out of the match if their media manager was not let in, and later insisted on recording the conversation—silently, mind you—that constituted yet another PMOA guideline violation.
The ICC, in the interests of the sport, the tournament and the stakeholders concerned accepted PCB's requests although this displayed an absolute disregard for the sanctity of the PMOA, where the conference was held," the source went on.
The international community was also not made aware of how the video would be utilized. Portions of the recording have since been leaked online, creating speculation surrounding what was discussed during the closed-session meeting.
The ICC also protested a PCB press statement claiming Pycroft had "apologised," when in fact he had only apologized for a communication breakdown. Gillani was subsequently prohibited from attending another PMOA meeting, where filming is forbidden.
