The Pakistan cricket squad opted to postpone a pre-match press conference before their Asia Cup 2025 game against the UAE on Tuesday.
The move followed the International Cricket Council (ICC) reportedly refusing the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) insistence that Andy Pycroft be withdrawn from the list of match referees for the tournament. The PCB claimed that Pycroft had been instrumental in the "handshake" debacle in the Group A game against India.
Pakistan cancelled a scheduled pre-match press conference here on Tuesday with team sources saying that it was done to "avoid" questions on the widely reported threat of a pullout," PTI reported.
The press conference, however, has been cancelled, Pakistani players are still going to take part in the practice session.
There were reports that Pakistan had threatened to boycott their match against the UAE unless Pycroft was dropped. However, the team gave no confirmation on their continued inclusion in the tournament.
The Times of India published that a pullout is deemed highly unlikely because of the harsh sanctions that would be imposed in case of such an action. With PCB's own financial troubles after the Champions Trophy, the board is not likely to take such a drastic action.
"It is very unlikely that the PCB will pull out from the Asia Cup," a PCB source told the Times of India.
"If we do that, ICC led by Jay Shah will put heavy sanctions on the PCB, and this is something our board cannot afford. The financial situation post the Champions Trophy, where all the stadiums were renovated, is not good."
Earlier, the ICC rejected Pakistan's plea to drop match referee Andy Pycroft from the Asia Cup panel, even as Pakistan reportedly threatened to pull out and threaten huge financial losses.
The PCB had complained that Pycroft told Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha not to exchange hands with India's Suryakumar Yadav during the toss in their Sunday match.
"Late last night, ICC had sent a reply to PCB stating that Pycroft won't be removed and their plea has been rejected," an ICC source told PTI.
