Asia Cup 2025: Who is the match referee for PAK vs UAE game?
Pakistan and UAE are taking on each other on Wednesday, September 17.
Andy Pycroft stayed as the match referee for Pakistan and United Arab Emirates in Match 10 of Asia Cup 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, September 17. There has been quite a lot of controversy surrounding the former Zimbabwean player with respect to the recent India-Pakistan encounter on Sunday, September 14.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) recently made its stance clear that Pycroft did not commit any wrongdoing as the referee after the PCB accused him of violating MCC's laws pertaining to the Spirit of Cricket since he requested the captains to not shake hands after tosss after the toss.
The ICC earlier confirmed that Pycroft handled the situation well and prevented an embarrassing situation. The global administrative body clarified that the decision to appoint referees and match officials lies with it and changing them under pressure would set to a bad precedent.
Pycroft, who stayed as the referee for the Pakistan-UAE clash eventually, termed the no-handshake episode as "miscommunication" and apologised to Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha, coach Mike Hesson and team manager Naveed Cheema in a meeting at the Dubai International Stadium.
"ICC's controversial match referee Andy Pycroft has apologized to the manager and captain of the Pakistani cricket team," the board said in a media release.
"Andy Pycroft had prohibited the captains of both teams from shaking hands during the India-Pakistan match. The Pakistan Cricket Board had strongly reacted to Andy Pycroft's action.
"Andy Pycroft termed the incident on September 14 as a result of miscommunication and apologized. The ICC has expressed its readiness to investigate the violation of the Code of Conduct during the match on September 14."
Speaking of the current match, Pakistan have been put in to bat first. It is a do-or-die encounter for both teams as India have already qualified for the Super Four from Group A. Both Pakistan and UAE have defeated Oman in the tournament but have lost convincingly to India.
The winner of the ongoing match, which started around an hour from its scheduled time of commencement, will qualify for the next stage while the loser will be eliminated. There were earlier reports which stated that Pakistan might withdraw from the match and the tournament.
[Asia Cup 2025] Always trying to give my best: Nasum Ahmed
Saim Ayub (0 off 2) departed for his third duck of the tournament. The left-handed batter was dismissed on the first ball in both of Pakistan's first two matches against Oman and India. Meanwhile, Sahibzada Farhan (5 off 12) followed suit. Both the batters got dismissed by the right-arm pace of Junaid Siddique.
Download Our App