The Pakistan cricket team was seen leaving their hotel for their Asia Cup match against the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief asked them to depart. In a post on X, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said: \u201cWe have asked the Pakistan team to depart for the Dubai Cricket Stadium. Further details to follow.\u201d The Asian Cricket Council confirmed in a statement that the match would go ahead at 8:30pm PKT. Pakistan cricket team departs for the stadium ?#BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com\/gSnZig71jv \u2014 Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) September 17, 2025 PCB spokesperson Amir Mir earlier said the clash was delayed by one hour amid uncertainty over whether the match would even be played at all. \u201cThe consultation process is ongoing and PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi is discussing with former chairmen Ramiz Raja and Najam Sethi and on the other hand, online negotiations are also going on with Dubai. Immediately, the match between UAE and Pakistan has been delayed by one hour,\u201d he said. Mir said efforts were underway to achieve some \u201cgood news\u201d and Naqvi would make the final announcement himself. Earlier, media reports said the Pakistan cricket team would not play their men\u2019s Asia Cup 2025 match against the UAE, according to media reports. \u00a0The PCB was awaiting a response from the International Cricket Council (ICC) over a protest about match referee Andy Pycroft. The Zimbabwean oversaw Sunday\u2019s politically charged clash with India, after which the victorious India team refused to shake hands with the Pakistan players. The PCB said that Pycroft told Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha not to shake hands with Indian counterpart Suryakumar Yadav before the match. Pycroft was scheduled to be the match referee for today\u2019s game as reports coming out from India claimed the ICC had rejected Pakistan\u2019s demand. This is not the first time teams have tried to change a match official in international cricket. India, in a 2001 test against South Africa, tried to have match referee Mike Denness removed, according to a report by Cricinfo. The Indian and South African cricket boards agreed to remove Denness; however, the decision was not taken by the International Cricket Council (ICC).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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