Guwahati: In a major boost before Pakistan’s crucial Asia Cup group stage clash against the UAE, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) insider confirmed to Indian news agencies that match referee Andy Pycroft would be replaced by Richie Richardson after a compromise reached with the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The decision was made amid a tense standoff between the PCB and the ICC after Sunday’s match against India.
After the match, the Indian players refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts.
Instead they paid “silent tribute to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.”
The PCB sought Pycroft’s removal from officiating any further Pakistan matches in the tournament.
After a day of negotiations, PCB sources stated that a “middle-of-the-road” solution was finally reached.
Richie Richardson will now officiate Pakistan’s game against the UAE.
It also gives PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi a respite.
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Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s interior minister, had held a meeting with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
If Pakistan had withdrawn from the tournament, it could have cost the board an estimated USD 16 million in revenue — a sum it can ill afford to lose, especially when compared to financially stronger boards like the BCCI.