By Kushan Sarkar

DUBAI: (Sep 16) After much back-and-forth, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has withdrawn its pullout threat and will field the team in its last Asia Cup group league game against UAE here on Wednesday.

According to PCB insiders, a “middle-of-the-road” agreement was reached under which match referee Andy Pycroft will not be officiating matches involving Pakistan with Richie Richardson being summoned to do duty in their must-win fixture.

Post the loss on Sunday, when the Indian players refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts as a mark of respect to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed, the PCB had asked for the removal of Pycroft from the tournament citing violation of ICC rules and regulations, only to be rejected by the game’s global governing body.