The BCCI have lodged a formal complaint with the ICC against Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan and Haris Rauf, for their on-field gestures during the Asia Cup Super-4 game against India last Sunday, a source in the know confirmed. The BCCI sent the email on Wednesday and the ICC is in receipt of it.
Farhan did a ‘gun’ celebration upon reaching his half-century, while video footage captured Haris gesturing towards a section of the fans and mocking a plane crash. The two players have to respond to the complaint in writing, and if they deny the allegations, a hearing would be held under the ICC match referee Richie Richardson. The former West Indies captain is one of the match referees in the tournament, with Zimbabwe’s Andy Pycroft being the other one.
The ongoing Asia Cup is being played at a time when the relations between the two neighbours are strained following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 innocent Indians. The Indian government responded with Operation Sindoor and delivered precision strikes against terrorist infrastructure across Pakistan.
India’s players and coaching staff refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts after both matches between the two teams in the tournament. After the win on Sunday, Shubman Gill, the Indian T20 team’s vice-captain, had posted on his X (formerly Twitter) handle: “Game speaks, not words.”
India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate told reporters on Tuesday that he did see “some of the things Haris did” and lauded his players for fighting “fire with their bats”.
Meanwhile, according to unconfirmed reports, the Pakistan Cricket Board, too, have lodged a complaint with ICC against Suryakumar Yadav for the Indian team captain dedicating the group league win over Pakistan to “the families of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack”.
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