After the handshake row with India, that saw ICC rejecting Pakistan Cricket Board’s demand to remove match referee Andy Pycroft twice, the cricket organisation has again knock on the world body’s doors. Pakistan team management has lodged a complaint against the television umpire with the International Cricket Council (ICC) over a caught-behind dispute involving Fakhar Zaman in Sunday’s Asia Cup Super Four match against India in Dubai, according to a report. Sri Lankan umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge gave Zaman out, caught behind by Sanju Samson for 15, when the replay did not provide conclusive evidence of a clean catch. On-field umpire Gazi Sohel did not raise his finger and referred the decision to the TV umpire, who ruled it a clean catch.
From one angle, it seemed the ball bounced before landing in Samson’s glove, but the umpire ruled that the wicketkeeper’s fingers were under the ball. Zaman stood his ground for a while and showed his displeasure before trudging out.
“Pakistan team manager Naveed Cheema went to the match referee, Andy Pycroft, to complain but was told that it was not his domain. Alternatively, the manager sent an email to the ICC complaining about the umpire,” said sources, as quoted in a report by Telecomasia.net.
After the match, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha questioned the legality of Fakhar Zaman’s dismissal, saying, “I don’t know about the decision. It’s obviously the umpire’s job. Umpires can make mistakes. And I have no problem with that. But it does look like it bounced before it was carried to the keeper.”
“You can say the way he was batting, if he batted throughout the powerplay, we probably would have scored 190. But yeah, that’s the umpire’s call. And they can make mistakes. I don’t know. To me, it bounced before it reached the keeper,” he added.
The complaint against the TV umpire is the latest bitter episode in the India-Pakistan rivalry, which saw Indian players refusing to shake hands with their rivals in both matches.
Pakistan had taken a strong stance against Pycroft after the first match, demanding his removal following the no-handshake controversy.
With IANS inputs