Asia Cup Face-Off: Handshake Dispute Delays Pakistan vs. UAE, But Players Stay Focused on the Game

TimesofIndia.com in Dubai: Metallica's song "Nothing Else Matters" could be the perfect theme for the Pakistan vs UAE match.It was a rock-and-roll day in Dubai.The match started an hour late after Pakistan threatened to boycott the Asia Cup if match referee Andy Pycroft continued to officiate the fixture. The players were ready to board the bus at their hotel but were asked to stay back. In Lahore, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi called up his predecessors — Najam Sethi and Ramiz Raja — to seek advice on how to deal with the ongoing crisis.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Following the meeting, the PCB released a statement saying: “ICC match referee Andy Pycroft has apologised to Pakistan’s captain & manager after barring the India vs Pakistan handshake on September 14, calling it a miscommunication.”Then came a press conference in Lahore, and Mohsin Naqvi posted on X: “We have asked the Pakistan team to depart to the Dubai Cricket Stadium.”READ ALSO | Handshake row: Inside details of PCB's emails to ICC, closed door meeting and match referee's non apologyMeanwhile, PCB also released a muted video showing Pycroft speaking with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and coach Mike Hesson.Pycroft walked out for the toss with both captains, did his duty, and left the pitch immediately — offering no handshakes. Pakistan brushed aside the UAE by 41 runs to storm into the Super Four, setting up a blockbuster rematch against arch-rivals India on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium.But the soap opera wasn’t over."Let's keep the questions on the match," Pakistan’s media manager Naeem Gilani began the post-match press conference.Yet on a day when off-field drama overshadowed cricket, UAE captain Muhammad Waseem and Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf were pressed with tough questions.Both played it cool without giving away much.Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf said the team was under no pressure and credited the PCB for handling the situation well."See, I wasn't feeling any pressure. Because these things are not in my control. These are the decisions of the board, this is a headache for them and they can manage it well," Haris told reporters."Instead, I had to play a match today. My focus was only on the match. The rest of the things outside of it, management knows better and they have tackled it really well."UAE captain Muhammad Waseem said his team’s only focus was on cricket and that the delay didn’t matter."First of all, this is not our responsibility or our work, we are focusing on our game. We came here for the game. We came with a plan for our game, and we planned that only. We came for the warm-up normally, the way we always do, and we were ready for the game," the Multan-born cricketer said."Doesn't matter if we are playing on time or playing late. We came here for the game only, and we played a game. Doesn't matter if we are playing at 6:30 or 7:30, this is not our work — this is for the organizers only."When asked whether handshake-gate affected camaraderie in the UAE team, given that many players are from India and Pakistan, Waseem categorically denied it."No, no, we are not talking about that because we are playing too much cricket with each other. We are very used to it, we are here like a family. No Indian, no Pakistani for us. We are playing for UAE, we are playing here as a family, we are living as a family, that's it."To borrow lines from Nothing Else Matters, the day can be summed up simply: unfazed by the delay, the cricketers were driven by heart to play cricket -- because in the end, nothing else matters.