New Delhi: By rejecting the plea to remove the match referee Andy Pycroft from the Asia Cup 2025, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has put the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on the spot. Or rather, PCB has put itself in a spot of bother by threatening to pull out of the tournament if its demands are not met.
Now that the ICC has rejected Pakistan’s appeal to dismiss Pycroft, all eyes will be on their cricket board and its stance on participation in the ongoing Asia Cup. Indian players’ refusal to exchange handshakes with their Pakistani counterparts has sparked a massive row, which has triggered the cricket fraternity in Pakistan.
The Men in Blue were called out for lacking sportsman’s spirit, with the Pakistanis even accusing Pycroft of giving instructions to India skipper Suryakumar Yadav about exchanging handshakes at the coin toss.
As Pakistan appealed to the ICC to remove Pycroft for not showing neutrality, India outrightly refuted those claims.
Will Pakistan stay true to their word and pull out of the marquee continental tournament?
A lot to lose for Pakistan cricket
If the Pakistan Cricket Board keep their promise and withdraws from the tournament, the Men in Green will return home on the back of an embarrassing loss against India. The Salman Agha-led side, which was brushed aside by their Indian counterparts in a lop-sided contest in Dubai on Sunday, has put more focus on non-cricketing matters instead of improving their game.
Pakistan have a lot to lose if they withdraw from the Asia Cup. Not only will they return without any success on the pitch, but a pullout could result in a revenue loss of anything between USD 12 to 16 million for Pakistan.
Currently, five Test-playing nations – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan – earn 15 per cent each from the Asian Cricket Council’s annual revenue and the country could lose the revenue of USD 12 to 16 million in case of a pullout.
It will be nothing less than a spell of doom for PCB, which is cash-strapped and in need of revenue generation.
Hence, the best thing for Pakistan cricket to do would be to focus on cricket, which is at an all-time low. Facing a must-win game against the UAE, the Pakistan cricket team should put their head down and focus on the preparations and strategy for the crunch clash on Wednesday.