Pakistan’s ‘permanent fixer for India’ jab at Andy Pycroft after boycott drama fizzles out

In a controversial statement, former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja termed match referee Andy Pycroft a “permanent fixer for India” and a “favourite for Team India”. His remarks came in a press conference after Pakistan withdrew their pullout threat in the match against the UAE last night in Dubai.

Pakistan had refused to take the field if Pycroft was appointed the match referee, blaming him for the “handshake row” in the September 14 match against India. Captain Suryakumar Yadav refused to shake hands with rival skipper Salman Ali Agha both after the toss and post the match, as a gesture of solidarity with the victims of Pahalgam terrorist attack. Pakistan lodged two separate protests with the ICC for the removal of Pycroft but the complaints were rejected. The impasse ended after the PCB claimed that Pycroft apologised to the Pakistan manager and captain for “miscommunication” during the toss.

“I have always seen that Andy Pycroft is the favourite for Team India,” Raja said at the press briefing. “I think he is a permanent fixer over there when it comes to the Indian team. He has officiated in 90 Indian games. This is blatant, this is one-sided and it shouldn't happen like that. This is a neutral platform."

Incumbent PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi had invited Raja and Najam Sethi, another former PCB chief, to the board headquarters to discuss Pycroft matter. Naqvi, who is also the Asian Cricket Council head, eventually asked the Pakistan team to play the match against the UAE, which it won by 41 runs to set up yet another high-stakes clash against India on September 21. According to reports, Pakistan would have had to pay $16 million to the ICC as compensation if they had boycotted the match.

“It is a win for us,” Raja said. “It was a critical situation. Emotions were running high. I am happy that we didn't take an emotional decision. Our cricket would have been damaged that we gone with the boycott decision. I have always believed this, that all the talking needs to be done by our cricket team. The frustration should be shown on the field and it should inspire us to do better.”

He also expressed his disappointment with Yadav’s remarks in the post-match press meet, saying that “if cricket turns into a political ground, then nothing can be achieved”. The Indian skipper had dedicated their win to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and their families.

Pycroft, 69, is a former Zimbabwe cricketer. He has officiated in over 200 matches since being included in the ICC Elite Panel. The ICC, reportedly, rejected PCB’s complaints after it found that the actions Pycroft took “were consistent with how a match referee will deal with such an issue, communicated as it was with no time for him to do anything else (minutes before the toss)”.