Full scale drama unfolded behind the scenes of the Pakistan vs UAE match in Dubai. The match was delayed because the PCB told the Pakistani players not to leave their hotels if their demands were not met.
Thee match was delayed by an hour as the PCB, ICC and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) were negotiating backstage.
The PCB had demanded the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft from the panel of referees. However, as per sources, PCB also wanted Indian Captain Suryakumar Yadav to apologize for his post match remarks. Suryakumar Yadav had dedicated the win to the victims of the Pahalgam attack and praised the Indian Army for Operation Sindoor.
PCB lies as its threat does not work
The PCB claimed that Andy Pycroft had apologised to Pakistani players for not allowing the handshake between the Indian and Pakistani players during the match.
PCB posted on X, “ICC’s controversial match referee Andy Pycroft has apologized to the manager and captain of the Pakistani cricket team. Andy Pycroft had prohibited the captains of both teams from shaking hands during the India-Pakistan match,” adding, “The PCB had strongly reacted to Andy Pycroft’s action. Andy Pycroft termed the incident on September 14 as a result of miscommunication and apologized.”
PCB further added, “The ICC has expressed its readiness to investigate the violation of the Code of Conduct during the match on September 14.”
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However, the ICC in its statement rebuked the PCB for filing a dubious complaint. It said that Andy Pycroft had acted as per established ruled and regulations. ICC in its letter said as per PTI, “The PCB had every opportunity to submit statements from its team members alongside the initial report but chose not to do so.”
The letter said, “The actions that the match referee took, following clear directions from the ACC (Asian Cricket Council) Venue Manager, were consistent with how a match referee would deal with such an issue, communicated as it was with no time for him to do anything else (minutes before the toss).”
The ICC also refused to remove Andy Pycroft as the match referee. He is the match referee during the Pakistani match against UAE on Wednesday after his apology.
Pakistan trolled on social media
Indian users on X were at it again trolling the Pakistani team for the delay in their all important clash against UAE.
Must watch video of Pakistanis realising ki unke sath khela ho gaya hai… 😂 #PAKvsUAE #PakVsInd pic.twitter.com/dAPQbXzLTO
— DarFar (@Mai_bhi_expert) September 17, 2025
One user on X said, “All their “demands” were outright rejected, yet they are playing the match tonight. Their cricket board is also like their government – all noise and no results! The ICC replied – Play or don’t, losers; Pycroft’s still officiating”.
All their “demands” were outright rejected, yet they are playing the match tonight. Their cricket board is also like their government – all noise and no results!
— Madhav Sharma (@HashTagCricket) September 17, 2025
The ICC replied – Play or don't, losers; Pycroft's still officiating 😂😂#PAKvsUAE pic.twitter.com/c1t0VgvC6D
Another user called Pakistan “Bhikaristan” and posted a video clip from the famous bollywood movie Hera Pheri where Akshay Kumar was the Pakistani team and Paresh Rawal was the Indian team.
Bhikharistan 🤣 #PAKvsUAE pic.twitter.com/0bNBX0zfFy
— Kamina (@bittu7664) September 17, 2025
Journalist Aditya Raj Kaul provided an explanation regarding why the PCB walked back from its threat. If Pakistan boycotted the match, they would have $16 million as penalty. That perhaps explains why Pakistan played the match against UAE.
