Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja has made an outlandish claim against match referee Andy Pycroft, accusing him of exhibiting bias towards India. Ramiz, in his accusations against the Zimbabwe official, asserted that Pycroft had been a fixture in India's matches and that he has officiated for India in 90 matches.
"What's interesting is Andy Pycroft is favourite for the Indians. Whenever I host tosses, he's always a permanent fixture over there. He has officiated in 90 Indian games. This is something blatant for me because though I thought he had refereed several matches, stats seemingly show something one-sided. It should not be like this. This is a neutral platform, which is why there are referees and match officials. But I hope that better sense prevails," he said while addressing media.
This all is happening in the wake of a controversial incident following Pakistan's high-voltage clash against India, where a customary post-match handshake was reportedly avoided, sparking outrage among Pakistani officials. Meanwhile, ahead of the match against UAE, which took place on Wednesday, Pakistan had threatened to pull out of the game after the ICC rejected its request to remove Pycroft from the match referee panel. However, the team changed its decision and participated in the game, which started an hour late.
Talking about the match between India and Pakistan held on September 15 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, the Indian team effortlessly beat Pakistan by seven wickets, continuing their dominance over the arch-rivals.