LAHORE: Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi has criticised the board’s handling of the recent hand-shake controversy that occurred ahead of the Asia Cup clash against India on Sunday.

“It was an unfortunate and sad incident and thank god the crisis has been solved, otherwise Pakistan cricket would have suffered great damages due to a boycott of the Asia Cup,” Sethi said on a private television programme late Thursday night.

Sethi revealed that the PCB had pressed for boycotting the tournament unless Pycroft was removed, a demand rejected by the ICC. The deadlock delayed Pakistan’s next game against the UAE by an hour before a last-minute compromise was reached.

The former chairman said he and another ex-PCB chief, Ramiz Raja, were consulted by current chairman Mohsin Naqvi before Pakistan agreed to play the UAE match.

“Had the PCB stood on its boycott, the ICC could have penalised Pakistan, the board would have lost $15-16 million in revenue, and even foreign players could have been barred from joining the Pakistan Super League,” Sethi warned.

He was critical of the PCB’s team management, particularly manager Naveed Akram Cheema, for being “unaware of the ICC and ACC constitutions” and failing to lodge protests through proper channels. “Instead of focusing on the Indian captain’s political speech at the closing ceremony, they picked on the handshake issue,” he said.

Sethi also lamented what he termed “non-merit appointments” in the PCB, pointing out that several senior officials were Punjab government officers on deputation with little cricketing background.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2025