The question that is doing the rounds in Dubai as I write this piece is what will Pakistan do tonight? Will they give the UAE a walkover or will they play? What we hear is that the ICC has responded to the call of removing the match referee and the response is negative. Andy Pycroft wasn’t at fault, and if at all anyone was responsible, it was the ACC officials at the ground who had informed him. If the ICC does turn down Pakistan’s request, and we hear they have, what option does Pakistan then have?
Will they stand by the threat and walk out of the game against the UAE? Or will they bite the bullet and play on? Either way, it will look like a strategy that has badly backfired. Will the ICC rejection be perceived as a snub and will Mohsin Naqvi decide to pull the team out? Remember, he is also the ACC Chair, so he will actually be pulling his own team out of a tournament which he heads.
In every sense, Pakistan is in a tight corner. They mismanaged the entire issue and have lost an opportunity. Take Salman Ali Agha. He has not said a word since the loss. Not to the broadcaster or to the reporters here. Now the point is he did have the opportunity as Pakistan captain to come forward and challenge Surya Kumar Yadav’s narrative. Rather, he sent Mike Hesson, a Kiwi, with little or no understanding of the situation. It was a self goal yet one more time and India set the narrative and Surya became a hero.
Time and again Pakistan seems to have misread the situation. And now the ball is firmly back with them. Will they play or not play? If they don’t, will they invite litigation and compensation? What reason will they give the world for the withdrawal? Clearly we haven’t seen the end of the story just yet.
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