It’s been a wild week for Pakistan’s cricket team at the Asia Cup. First, there was the PCB’s threat to boycott the tournament. Then there was the issue with ICC match referee Andy Pycroft, a one hour delay to their match against UAE and no handshakes with Team India. But fast bowler Haris Rauf thinks the PCB handled everything well.
The drama peaked on Wednesday in Dubai when the Pakistan team refused to leave their hotel for the must win match against UAE. This was in response to the ICC’s denial of their request to remove match referee Andy Pycroft. After getting approval from the higher ups, the team eventually made it to the ground but the match was delayed by an hour. To add to the tension, Pakistan also cancelled their pre match press conference on Tuesday but did have a practice session before the UAE match. The core of Pakistan’s issue was with Pycroft whom the PCB wanted to replace. And as a cherry on top, the team didn’t attend the post match presentation after their match against India in the T20 Asia Cup.
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When asked about the pressure, Haris Rauf said, To be honest I wasn’t feeling any pressure. Things were out of my hands and it’s not my job to worry about those things. My job is to play and I was focused on the game. Our cricket board and management have taken care of things well, that’s their job.
After Suryakumar Yadav hit the winning runs, he and Shivam Dube walked straight to the dugout without shaking hands with the Pakistani players. This seemed connected to the strained relations between the two countries especially after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22 where Pakistan backed terrorists killed 26 tourists.
Despite all the off field drama, Pakistan won the match against UAE. Thanks to an all round bowling performance they made it to the Asia Cup Super 4. This sets up another match against India after their 41 run win in Dubai on Wednesday.
Pakistan and India will face off again on Sunday, a week after their previous intense match where India thrashed Pakistan by 7 wickets.
