Boria Majumdar in Dubai
You have a bad team. You have a team which includes a player who spews venom on social media. You have players who don’t have the ability to stand up to your opponents. And you don’t have the courage to call out your own like Faheem Ashraf and yet you talk about spirit.
Clearly feeling the pressure, what does Mohsin Naqvi do? Attack the match referee Andy Pycroft for wrongdoing. There are many questions here. Is he being targeted because he is from Zimbabwe? Because they don’t really have the clout in international cricket? Would it have been the same had he been from Australia or England?
Now that the ICC has been sent the complaint, what should they do? Clearly Pycroft needs to be heard. He will have his side of the story. And it is highly unlikely that he went ahead on his own and said no handshakes at the toss without being advised to do so.
Naqvi’s tweet is part of the larger chess move. The ICC is now under Jay Shah, so let them decide on the matter? If they don’t remove Pycroft, Pakistan will cry discrimination. If they remove him, it will be seen as a face-saver for the ACC. The truth is sport and politics have always been uneasy bedfellows and this is yet another example. Who blinks first and when? Will the ICC conduct an investigation and hear Pycroft? Clearly that’s part of the principle of national justice. Also should Pycroft seek legal recourse, what will be the outcome?
In all of this, it is evident that India is not even a party. Naqvi knows he can’t pin India and hence has diverted the matter to the match referee. Suryakumar Yadav and his boys are no longer even connected to the matter and it will be interesting to see what they do next Sunday, September 21?
Clearly the Indians will not want to shake hands and they are under no compulsion to do so. Even if they are fined, they wouldn’t care. What will or can the ACC do? Change the referee again? Is that a solution really?
Let me say this again. Pakistan needs to focus on their cricket. Naqvi as PCB boss should speak to his team for the underperformance. That’s where his attention should be focused. By going after Pycroft, he is not seeing the wood for the trees. The world will see through the ploy to divert attention and it will not help Pakistan cricket. Another India win is very much on the cards.
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