Much like the match eve, when Pakistan cancelled their scheduled press conference after hours of uncertainty, the Pakistan–United Arab Emirates (UAE) match day unfolded in similar fashion. Despite the toss being slated for 6:00 pm local time, the Pakistan team remained at their hotel until as late as 5:30 pm.
According to Cricbuzz, the players were ready to leave, with their kit bags packed and lined up, but were told to wait until further notice. Outside the hotel, a sizeable crowd had gathered near the gates hoping to watch the team’s departure, but there was no movement, fuelling doubts about whether the match would take place at all.
Around the same time, reports surfaced that a press conference was being arranged in Lahore, but that never materialised. Instead, the Pakistan team finally left the hotel around 5:45 pm — shortly after Mohsin Naqvi, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), tweeted that the squad had been instructed to proceed to the Dubai International Stadium. The delayed departure pushed the start of the match back by an hour.
Pakistan’s 15-kilometre journey to the stadium took close to 40 minutes, slowed down by heavy evening traffic and last-minute security cordons. In contrast, the UAE team had arrived at the venue by 5:00 pm local time.
Andy Pycroft, who had been at the stadium by 5:00 pm and reportedly left during the standoff, later officiated the match. In the aftermath, the PCB released a video (without audio) and a press note stating that Pycroft — the match referee they had twice requested International Cricket Council (ICC) to remove from Asia Cup duties — had described the September 14 handshake controversy as a “miscommunication” and issued an apology.
In a meeting at the Dubai International Stadium, Pycroft was joined by Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha, head coach Mike Hesson, and team manager Naveed Cheema, who had lodged Pakistan’s protest over India’s refusal to shake hands following their Asia Cup fixture.
“ICC’s controversial match referee Andy Pycroft has apologised to the manager and captain of the Pakistan cricket team,” the PCB said in its media release.
“Andy Pycroft had prohibited the captains of both teams from shaking hands during the India–Pakistan match. The Pakistan Cricket Board had strongly reacted to Andy Pycroft’s action.
“Andy Pycroft termed the incident on September 14 as a result of miscommunication and apologised. The ICC has expressed its readiness to investigate the violation of the Code of Conduct during the match on September 14.”
